A Change
by AmberNiK
Summary: After the Fae war Niall invites Sookie to move to the fae realm with him before he closes the portals. I do not own the characters from the Southern Vampire Mysteries.
1. Chapter 1

"Sookie I am going over to see Jason, will you be alright until Niall gets here?" Amelia asked me from the doorway.

"I'll be fine Amelia. I'm able to get around now so don't worry about me. Plus he'll be here in a half hour. I'll see you later. Bye."

She walked out the door with a "bye" and I was alone for the first time in the two weeks since the fae war. Amelia, my brother Jason, and my great-grandfather Niall had been taking turns helping me around the house and taking care of me since I was brought home after the battle. Jason and Amelia had bonded over both the losses of Tray and Crystal, as well as their need to take care of me while I was incapacitated, and were well on their way to being an item. I was happy that they both had one another to talk to since neither were willing to talk to me about the deaths of Crystal and Tray because I felt partly responsible. They both felt I was in to bad a shape to be concerned with how they were feeling anyway. One of them was nearly always by my side except for the couple hours in the afternoon my great-grandfather, Niall, came.

When Jason came by to check on me after hearing of my "car accident," my great-grandfather was here. After introductions, then some heated words from Jason, Jason was told of what really happened. He insisted that he would come by and help me with whatever I needed. Upon hearing that Jason truly cared about me and Jason hearing of how Niall saved my life by rescuing me from thing one and thing two, they put their differences behind them. While I don't think they will ever be truly close, they have an understanding of each other and can carry on conversation without things becoming uncomfortable.

My grandfather stopped by most days and told me of Claudine's condition as well as the state of affairs in the fae realm since the battle. The first day he came to my house to check on me, three days after the war, he told me that why Claudine never came back into the hospital ward after leaving my room when Eric came. When my great-grandfather's enemies came to ambush us at the hospital, he and his allies had not reached us yet. So Claudine held them off single-handedly for as long as she could. She was found seriously wounded but alive by a fairy on my grandfather's side when Niall came to the hospital to defeat Breandan. She was now in the fae realm recovering and mourning the loss of her unborn child, which she miscarried during the battle. He says she will still be weak for some time but is healing. Claude has stopped by to see me twice, but otherwise is staying in their realm to help Claudine. Our relationship has shifted since my torture and we seem to have developed a mutual respect for the other. He was impressed with my strength during my torture, while I was likewise impressed by his devotion to our grandfather in fighting against his enemies. I dare say in time we might become close.

Eric is an entirely different matter. Since he brought me home after defeating my great-grandfather's enemies he has been skillfully avoiding me. He explained this would be the case when he returned the next night due to the copious number of questions he was receiving from Felipe and Victor concerning the link between Clancy's death, Bill's silver poisoning, and my near fatal "car accident". He is trying to avoid unnecessary attention to me and my condition so no more questions will arise about my connection to the fae and his involvement in the war. He has done his best to cover our tracks and account for Bill's condition and Clancy's death (they were attacked by drainers) as well as mine (car accident) and swear it all as a coincidence. Nonetheless, Felipe still seems to suspect a connection between us, more precisely me, and the fae war which has become news in the supe world due to death of Breandan, the only fairy prince other than my great-grandfather. All of this I have been told through Pam. Pam calls every night for an update on my condition, and to update me on any supe news.

I thought I would miss Eric, but I have actually found my time away from vampires and their politics very refreshing. I have realized that at least some of my attraction to Eric has been due to our blood exchanges. When I am not near him I can think more clearly. I know I have some genuine feelings in there too but I do believe that these are magnified because of our bond. This time apart has given me time to really explore the extent of my feelings and where I want this relationship to go.

Just as I decided I was thirsty and stood from the couch to get a glass of water my great- grandfather popped into the room directly in front of me.

"Great-granddaughter what do you need? You sit back down and I will get it for you." He smiled while gently easing me back onto the couch.

"I just wanted a glass of water." While I appreciated his caring for me recently I still felt it strange to have the fairy Prince waiting on me hand and foot. He doesn't let me do anything when he is here. I was feeling better and could move around a little bit on my own and the pain was now mostly bearable. I was tired of being immobile.

"Here you are," he said as a glass full of water appeared in his hand out of thin air. "Is there anything else you need?"

"No thank you" I said as I took the glass from his hand and took a sip.

"How are you feeling today," he asked as he sat in the chair across from me in the living room.

"I am feeling much better. I've been able to walk a little without help and the pain is not so bad that I need the medicine any longer." He eyed me over looking at all my more visible wounds and relief settled on his face.

"I am so glad you are healing so quickly, even with only the one dose of vampire blood you received from Eric before I got to you at the hospital. It is quite remarkable. I am glad you have not had many outside visitors come see you. No human would be able to recover so fast, therefore any frequent visits to you by others would definitely raise suspicions." He told me repeatedly how proud he was of my bravery during my torture and during the last couple weeks as I healed.

I got a somewhat confused expression on my face and decided to go ahead and state the obvious. "Grandfather, I am so little fae I don't see how what you're saying could be. I can't understand how this would have an effect on my recovery."

"Yes, well let me explain. But first, I have made some decisions recently regarding the state of things in the fae realm and I feel that since you are now able, we should talk about what these things mean for you." I took a big gulp of water and nodded my head. From the sound of it this was going to be big, so I braced myself. I had no idea how my healing ability and his political decisions related but I knew I was about to find out.

"Well my young one I have decided it is for the best to close off our realm from this world. It is too dangerous for the humans of this world if we continue to exist here. While I cannot make this offer to your brother, I would very much like it if you would move to the fae realm with me. You would be safe there, and surrounded by family." I opened my mouth to interrupt but was silenced which a raised hand.

"I must tell you why this is only an option offered to you and I hope you will understand why I kept this from you until now." At this point he gave me a look as if to size up whether I was paying sufficient attention. " Sookie, you are not simply an eighth fairy, like your brother, but just over half fairy. The woman you knew to be your mother accepted those duties after your real mother died when you were born." At this point I gasped and stared at him wide-eyed and disbelieving. I couldn't think of a single thing to say. I was at a complete loss.

"Your father had a brief affair with a fairy named Rosalyn and you were conceived. Your father came clean after Rosalyn found out she was pregnant and when she died we all agreed he should be given the right to raise you since you were his daughter. Of course it was agreed you would be treated as Jason's full sister. But, due to your heritage Fintan, your grandfather, had to bind your powers and subdue your fairy nature so that your father could take care of you. A mostly fairy child is too large a handful for someone so human." Somehow I knew my grandfather would not lie to me, so I just nodded my head to let him know I was still paying attention, but in truth I was completely shocked. He took that as his cue to continue.

"Now if you choose to stay here you would indeed live a normal human lifespan and would not uncover any more of your fairy abilities, although you will always have your telepathy. If you came to live with the rest of your fairy family, including your true mother's relatives, in our realm, you will soon take on many of our qualities and gain some magic as well. I can't undo what was done by Fintan's magic, however the more you are around fairies and their magic on a daily basis the more you will grow into your own, especially living in our realm. Eventually, it would become as if you always had the full use of your powers." He leaned over and stroked the hand not holding the water glass reassuringly. My thoughts were still buzzing and I just couldn't think to speak yet.

"I truly wish you will consider my request. I, as well as Claudine and Claude, will miss you a great deal if you stay behind. We did not tell you in an effort to protect you, and while it could be argued that this backfired, our intentions were good. I know you have been through a great deal, and I don't want to leave you behind without Claudine's and my protection if we don't have to." I just continued to sit looking at my great- grandfather's beautiful face with an uncomprehending expression. I heard all of what he just said but what he was asking, for me to choose between my fairy family and my brother and friends in this realm, I was having a little trouble with.

"How long do I have to decide?" I asked not taking my eyes off of his face.

"All the fae must have time to get our affairs in a way so as to not attract too much attention to our plans. I plan to give it about a week. I will be back in five days so that if you decide to come with me I can help you get all of your affairs in order as well." He said giving me an understanding and sympathetic look.

"I will go so that you can think about all that I have just told you. I know this is a lot to take in. Please remember I love you Dear One, and I will be sending someone to help you in the next few days as I will be busy making arrangements of my own."

As he stood to walk out a thought occurred to me. "Grandfather wait! I also have something I have not told you, however in light of what you have told me I feel you should be aware." He turned back to me and waited.

"Hadley had a son named Hunter while she was still human. He is still young, not of school age yet, and lives just over an hour from here. He is telepathic like me and if I should choose to leave will need help with his control."

"Thank you for telling me child. I will take care of his training and ensure that he has everything he will need in the future. I will have someone come by later to bring you dinner and help you with anything else you will need. In the mean time, please do not talk of my offer or my plans to anyone that is not fairy, beyond Jason and Amelia. We do not want to put our kind or you in any more danger. Bye Sookie." With that he popped out.

After Niall left, I decided to just relax and watch some TV while I thought about what I was going to do. Next thing I knew there was a light knock on the door and someone gently opened it just a crack. I looked around and noticed it was nearly dark. I had obviously fallen asleep. This must be whoever was to get me dinner, I thought. I felt for the brain pattern of my visitor and was a little nervous to realize it was a fairy. I should have known my great-grandfather would send a fairy, but after everything I'd recently been through an unknown fairy at my door scared me a little.

"Come on in" I said nervously . I looked toward the door to see who it was and I gasped. It was Preston. Preston, the Were that I slept with on Christmas Eve, Preston. And on Christmas Eve, when I found him in my woods, he definitely told me he was a Were. His brain patterns were those of a Were that night. Today, everything about him definitely said fairy. I sat up staring at him.

"Prince Niall sent me. I have Chinese food for dinner, he said this would be agreeable?" he said still standing at the door waiting for me to say something.

I thought of explanations as to what I was seeing. I could still be asleep. I pinched myself on the arm. Nope, most definitely awake. I could be hallucinating. But, I certainly feel pretty lucid. Ok, that leaves only one explanation. He wasn't who he said he was on Christmas Eve. I felt pretty certain my great-grandfather would not send someone he did not trust, and I felt certain that if this man meant me harm he wouldn't still be standing at the door with a bag in his hand. Still, I was a little scared, what with being nearly killed by fairies a couple weeks ago.

"I suppose you are waiting for an explanation as to why I seemed a Were at Christmas, yet now am clearly a fairy" he said as closed the door behind him and cautiously approached me with a bag of food in his hand, as if to say 'I am not going to hurt you'. I nodded my head.

"I know what has happened to you recently, so I can understand why you would be nervous right now, and I want you to know I mean you no harm. Your great- grandfather sent me because he wants to make sure there are no more secrets from you before you make your decision. He wants to be completely honest with you. He sent me on Christmas Eve because he knew how lonely and sad you were and wanted you to have some bit of happiness on a day that he knows means so much to you. He picked me because I have a unique fae talent of disguising myself to seem like other creatures, this includes my brain pattern. He did not wish to deceive you, but since you knew how powerful he is in our realm he felt you would immediately contact him and therefore ruin his gift if you knew me to be a fairy." He just stood there eyeing me for any indication of how I might respond. Feeling a little more confident of the situation he took a few more steps so he was standing across from me.

"So you are in fact a fairy, and you spending the night with me and sleeping with me that night was all a gift from my great-grandfather?" I asked trying to sum up the situation.

"Yes that basically sums it up, but please understand he loves you very much and only deceived you in order to give to you. I hope you won't hold this against him or me. I do hope we can get past this." He had finally sat across from me with his elbows resting on his knees while gripping whatever he brought for dinner with both hands.

After a couple minutes of quietly fuming internally, then accepting that Niall truly just wanted to see me happy, I decided forgiveness was my best option. After all, Niall only wanted to help cheer me up, however misguided this attempt may have been; and Preston only wanted to please and obey him.

"Seeing as how he just saved my life and I imagine your part in the entire thing that night was simply that of a loyal subject of my great- grandfather, I forgive you both. Now, let's see what you have in that bag." With a light chuckle and nod he began pulling out various kinds of Chinese food. I took the plate of General Tso's and an egg roll and settled back into the couch while he took some sort of noodle dish. We settled into a comfortable silence eating and watching Angel on TV.

When we were done eating he told me all about the fae realm. He also told me a few stories about what it was like growing up there. I was becoming a little more comfortable around him. He was lively and animated when telling stories, and he was quite easy to look at. At about ten o'clock Amelia and Jason came laughing through the kitchen door. They walked through the kitchen and into the living room. When they both saw that Niall was not the one keeping me company tonight they stopped.

"Hey Sookie, who's your friend" Amelia asked coming to a stop across the room.

"This is Preston. Niall stopped by earlier, but had to leave to take care of some business. He sent Preston here to keep me company." Amelia just grinned knowingly and said 'hi' , while Jason opted for a firm handshake before turning back to me. It was clear to me why Jason had come home with Amelia rather than stay at his house. They were combining a sleepover with the necessity that someone needed to come check on me and relieve Niall from his 'shift'.

"Sook, do you need help getting ready for bed?" Jason, ever to the point, asked. I looked over at Amelia who looked simply amused.

"Yeah I guess it's getting late and I'd really like to take a shower. Amelia, do you mind?" She went off to my bedroom ahead of me while I told Preston goodnight. As much as I wanted to stay and talk to him a while longer I didn't want to impose upon Amelia any more than necessary and I still needed help washing my hair. He told me he would be here again tomorrow for my grandfather unless I had any objections. Of course, I said I didn't and told him I'd see him tomorrow.

After Amelia helped me wash and dry my hair we met Jason in the living room and I told them both what Niall had told me and offered to me. Jason was shocked as he had always thought I was his full sister just as I had.

"Sookie, we have something we wanted to tell you too" Amelia said looking to Jason out of the corner of her eye. I tried to stay out of their heads so they could say what they wanted without me being tipped off. This was pretty hard because Amelia is a very loud broadcaster anyway and add that to the excitement she was currently feeling and it felt like she was mentally screaming at me.

Jason started then. "Sookie, I've asked Amelia to marry me and she has said yes. We know it's fast, but it really just feels right. We've been around each other near constantly for the last two weeks, and well we both feel like this is headed that way anyway so why not just go ahead and make it now."

"That's great you two! I'm so happy for you. You both have been through so much and you both deserve to be happy. And you guys really seem to fit." I couldn't help but give them both the tightest hug I could stand. They were both emitting nothing but sincere contentment so I felt like maybe they were finally both getting the happy ending they deserved.

"That being said," Amelia took a deep steadying breath "I think you should go to the fae realm" Amelia said while holding Jason's hand. "We can have the wedding before you leave. You have been through so much Sook, I just feel like you would be happier with your grandfather and Claudine. And you would be safer. Think of how many times you've been beaten up and hurt. Even if you can pretend you are human, you know now you're not like everyone else that will be left here. You aren't a vampire, or a shifter, or a witch. You are a fairy. Now that you know that you know you should be with them not left behind here." She had a point and while I didn't want to leave them, if I was honest with myself I couldn't imagine being without my fairy family now that I had bonded with them. Niall, and Claudine, and even Claude, were my family. I loved them, and now that I knew I was mostly fairy too I really wanted the chance to be somewhere that I could fit in. My telepathy had always made fitting in difficult.

"I'll give it some more thought before I decide anything for sure, but even so, I am sure Niall would like to see Jason get married since they are finally getting along now. Are you planning on having a traditional Hot Shot wedding again?" They both nodded happily. "Ok then. Can we have the wedding on Friday, day after tomorrow?"

"That would be great!" exclaimed Amelia.

"I'll give Calvin a call in a minute to let him know." Jason said and then we all said our goodnights and I went to my room to think about everything that had happened today.

The more I thought about moving and starting a new life in the fae realm with my fairy family the more it started to feel like the natural choice. Being apart from Eric has made me realize that I needed a change. Maybe this was just the change I needed.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning I woke up to giggling coming from the kitchen and the smells coffee and bacon. I sat up slowly and propped myself up against the headboard of my bed. I was always my sorest in the mornings. I took an inventory of my injuries thankful that most of the smaller gashes had totally disappeared. I still had the remains of three or four of what were the large gaping wounds, now all less than half of their original sizes, and a couple bruises across my chest from where my broken ribs were still healing. My legs were still sore and the wounds still across my stomach and side made using my stomach muscles really painful. Just as I sucked in a breath to pull my legs over the side of the bed so I could stand up, the door cracked open and Amelia peeked in.

"Morn'in Sookie. Jason and I just fixed some bacon and toast, and a pot of coffee. You want me to bring you some?"

"Sure" I said leaning back again. I was glad to put off using my stiff and sore muscles for a least a little longer.

Two minutes later Amelia walked in with a plate in her hand closely followed by Jason carrying a coffee cup. Each of them also had a coffee cup of their own. They sat down on either side of me, propping themselves against the headboard as well, and I took the plate from Amelia. Jason and I had settled our differences and had become much closer since he had been helping to take care of me. The fact that Amelia cared for him so much only helped the situation by helping me see those few redeeming qualities I so often overlook.

"So did you get up with Calvin?" I asked Jason, after I had taken a couple bites of toast and washed it down with my coffee. I guessed that they had already eaten since they didn't bring plates for themselves.

"I sure did" he said after swallowing a sip of coffee. "He said he'll have everything ready for us tomorrow night at seven. Calvin seemed thrilled at the prospect of me and Amelia. He also volunteered to represent me in this wedding. He was worried with you still recovering; it would be a lot to ask of you. I hope you don't mind but I agreed." He seemed so excited. I nodded. Although I really did feel like this marriage had a much better chance of working than the one my brother had with Crystal, breaking Calvin's hand left a bad taste in my mouth for that ritual. I was glad I wouldn't have to be included in that again. I was just surprised that Calvin accepted Jason getting married again so soon with open arms.

"Octavia is coming to represent me. I called her last night and she said she would be arriving in Bon Temps Friday morning" Amelia said with the excitement to rival Jason's and a huge grin across her face.

"That all sounds wonderful" I told them both. "It will be nice to see Octavia again. So what are you guys up to today?" I asked to let them know they didn't have to stay around and babysit me if they had work to do for the wedding tomorrow night.

"Well I am going to go to Tara Togs in a little bit to look for a dress for my wedding. I was hoping that if you were feeling up to it you could tag along?" Amelia had already moved off the bed and stood beside me with a hopeful look.

"Sure but I don't know how long I'll feel like being out. I don't want to hold you back if you need to go do anything else after." I wanted to help my best friend pick out her wedding dress, especially since she was marrying my brother, but I didn't want to hold her back and I am still not up for hours of shopping.

"Don't be ridiculous. We can come back right after. I certainly don't want you to overdo it" Amelia said. I could tell she was doing her best to accommodate me while still including me in what little she could for her wedding. After all we both knew, no matter what my decision in regards to my great- grandfather's offer, things were going to change once she and my brother got married. We had become very close over the time she had lived with me and after tomorrow we wouldn't be living under the same roof anymore.

"Ok let me get dressed, then we can go." I was actually pretty eager to get out of the house. I hadn't been out in public, since the night thing one and thing two kidnapped me. It would be nice to go out for a bit, but finding something to wear that wouldn't reveal my worst injuries and would be comfortable proved to be a difficult task. After looking through my closet I finally found a casual, loose fitting sundress that went about halfway down my calf. After a brushed my teeth and combed my hair down (Amelia straightened it for me before I went to bed last night) I was ready to go. I slipped on a pair of flops and found Amelia putting away the last breakfast plate in the kitchen. Jason had left already.

"Are you ready to go?" she asked me. I nodded my head. As soon as I grabbed my purse, we were in Amelia's car and on our way. My car had to been put through a staged wreck, leaving it completely totaled, because according to the story we were telling, I was in a near fatal car accident. Not that I have been able to use a car lately, but I wouldn't have one to use even if I could.

On the way to Tara's store we talked about what kind of dress she wanted. By the time we got there Amelia had decided that she wanted something that was tea length and a silk material. She also decided that with the nature of the Hot Shot ceremony she really didn't want white but couldn't decide on exactly what color she did want.

As soon as we walked into the store Tara ran over and embraced me into a light hug. "I've wanted to go see you since I first heard of your accident, but after I heard how you were hurt I decided I'd let you rest and recover for a while before stopping by. I can't believe your already up and about." She continued on enthusiastically while still holding my shoulders. It was nice to know people were thinking about me, but Niall was right. It's a good thing I didn't have visitors to see how bad I really was and how fast I had recovered. People would wonder.

It's hard to believe no one has ever noticed how fast I healed after the many times I got hurt. Even when I got shot in the shoulder, I was out of the hospital and back to my routine in no time. But I guess I would have never noticed my quick healing myself if my great- grandfather hadn't pointed it out to me. I always attributed it to vampire blood's healing, not even realizing that I heal quicker than normal even on my own. I wondered how much of my fairy traits had already been unmasked since I had been around Claude, Claudine, and my great- grandfather Niall, especially with his daily visits lately.

"Well I was pretty banged up," I said pulling myself from my inner musings. "Even broke a couple ribs. But I am feeling better, though I am still sore even now" I said, hoping she wouldn't think to carefully on my quick recovery. "We are here hoping to find a nice dress for Amelia. She and Jason are getting married tomorrow night."

Tara's mouth dropped as she looked from me over to Amelia who was grinning from ear to ear beside me. After a minute she composed herself enough to congratulate Amelia.

"Well he always was a wild one, but you seem much more suited to him than Crystal was." I could clearly hear in Tara's thoughts that, although she thought it was very quick for both of them to marry so soon after their partners died, Amelia's situation was more shocking than Jason's. After all, Jason caught Crystal cheating on him despite being pregnant with his child. He was just cleared from the lists of suspects for her murder last week. But, Amelia seemed to really care about Tray, and while they were not married, they had been happy together just a couple weeks ago.

"Well Tara, you of all people know how quickly love can happen. After all you got married spur of the moment yourself" I reminded her in an attempt to get her thoughts away from my brother and Amelia's recent circumstances. Just hearing people think about Tray or Crystal's deaths spurred a wave of guilt in me. After all, I am the only one who survived the wrath of thing one and thing two.

"You are so right Sookie," she said smiling at me and obviously remembering her own wedding. She turned to Amelia "so are you going for something more casual?" Amelia nodded happily; I don't think anything could ruin her mood today. "Ok, right over here then." Tara directed Amelia and me to a rack of semi-formal dresses in various pastels.

Amelia immediately spotted a light green silk dress and insisted that "this is it." She tried it on, and of course she was right. The dress was stunning on her. It was indeed a silk tea length dress that had a strapless sweetheart neckline with gathered fabric that crossed over her chest. It had a white tie that fit around her hips then the skirt flared to below her knees. It was simple and elegant. It was stunning on her.

Forty-five minutes later and we leaving Tara's with the dress, matching shoes and a hand purse. Amelia was giddy and the mood was contagious.

"I still can't believe how happy you and my brother make each other. Even after everything that's happened, you both seem the happiest I've ever seen you." I couldn't help but think about my brother's wedding to Crystal and how I had to hold my tongue that night and let him marry that woman.

"I know and to think I was at his last wedding only a few months ago. But don't worry about either of us. I love him more than I thought possible. I know it's hard to believe but I've never felt so natural around someone. Maybe it runs in the family" she laughed loudly "but I never felt like this with a guy before. It's a lot like with you. I just went with my instinct and left New Orleans with you. I just knew things would work out, like we were meant to be friends. I know I want to marry him. A life with Jason just fits." I started tearing up a little at how heartfelt what she was saying really was. I knew she meant it, not just from her thoughts, but from the way they acted together. I also felt it in my heart at that moment that, while I didn't want to leave them, the next natural step for me is to leave with my great-grandfather. They had found happiness and it is time I try and find some myself.

We pulled into our driveway just after lunch. After Amelia went up to her room to hang up her dress, she made us both sandwiches. I ate mine greedily and even had a second. We talked about nothing in particular. When I was done eating I realized I was really beat. While it was really good to get out of the house, it was really draining and I needed a rest.

"Amelia, I think I am going to go lay down for a bit. Our little trip really tired me out." I told her as I stood up from the kitchen table.

"Alright, Sookie. If you need anything let me know" she said to me, not even looking up from the book she was reading. I just nodded my head and went to my room. As soon as my head hit the pillow I was asleep.

-

-

When I woke up from my nap it was dusk outside. I must have been much more tired than I thought. I still had on the dress I wore to town, so I decided to change into an over sized tee and shorts before making my way into the living room.

Amelia was sitting in the living room surfing the channels on the TV. I went to sit down next to her just when the phone started to ring.

"I'll get it" I said as I made my way to the phone in the kitchen.

"Hello?" I said as I picked up the phone.

"Lover. How are you?" came Eric's voice on the other end. I had forgotten how beautiful his voice sounded. I immediately felt little flutters in my stomach.

"I feel pretty good all things considered. Niall is very happy with my progress." He knew my great- grandfather had been coming to take care of me. In fact, I think it comforted him immensely that, since he couldn't be here himself, I did have someone able to protect me around daily.

"Well that is good to hear. I am coming to see you tonight for a while. I cannot stay late, but I would like to spend a couple hours with you. Why don't you call and tell him not to come, so we can have some time alone."

"Ok" I said "I guess I'll see you soon?"

"Yes. Goodbye, lover."

"Bye" I said content to see Eric for the first time in over two weeks. I hadn't really thought about how much I was going to miss Eric if I left. Maybe I had been avoiding that line of thinking for a reason, because I felt a little hollow at the thought of never seeing him again.

I immediately dialed by great- grandfathers number in hope of letting him know not to send Preston.

"Dear one," my great-grandfather greeted me when he picked up the phone "to what do I owe the pleasure of your call."

"Well great- grandfather I just wanted to let you know that Eric is coming to visit with me tonight. So Preston doesn't have to come with my dinner" I told him.

"Very well. I will tell him. He tells me you two had a nice visit last night."

"Yes we did. I'm glad you sent him last night. It means a lot that you are trying so hard, and I found him very nice, once I got over my shock" I told him to make sure he knew that I wasn't trying to avoid Preston. Part of me also wanted to clue him in that while I forgave him and Preston, he had still been in the wrong. "Also, you are invited to Jason and Amelia's wedding tomorrow night at seven in Hot Shot."

"Please let them know I will be there, although I cannot stay for long. I will meet you at your house at six. I am sure you have some questions for me now that you have had time to digest all that I told you yesterday?"

"I do" I said. Boy did I have questions.

"I will see you tomorrow my dear child."

"Ok great- grandfather. Good-bye" I said. We hung up and I made my way back to the living room. Talking with my great- grandfather always put me in a happy mood. And that combined with the prospect of seeing Eric, well I felt nearly giddy.

I told Amelia that Eric would be over soon and she said she would go over to Jason's for a while so we could catch up. I was still not in any shape to fool around, even if I wanted to, but a lot had happened since I'd last seen Eric, and I really wanted to talk alone. I had promised I wouldn't tell anyone but Jason and Amelia about everything Niall and I had talked about, but even so I had plenty to talk about with Eric.

About twenty minutes later Amelia had changed into blue jeans, called Jason, and was walking out the door when I felt the bond between Eric and I getting stronger. He was almost here. When I had been in the hospital after my torture I couldn't feel our bond at all. However, once I started to recover I realized I could feel him when his emotions got intense once again. I could only feel strong emotions from him with the distance between us plus the weakening of our bond during my torture. But now, I was feeling our bond much stronger once again. Definitely not as strong as it had been before my kidnapping but it was certainly there. It was a comforting feeling to sense him once again.

I followed Amelia out to the porch to tell her bye and wait for Eric to arrive. As Amelia got into her car to pull out, Eric landed a couple yards away from the porch. His hair was disheveled from flying and he was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a Fangtasia tee. He looked sexy as ever. And last but not least he had a box of pizza in his right hand and a pack of True Blood in his left. As soon as I spotted the pizza my stomach let a hungry growl.

"Lover" he said and was immediately right in front of me. He leaned down and kissed me lightly on the lips.

* * *

A/N: So, you didn't think the decision would be that easy did you? This chapter was a bit shorter, but she had to acknowledge that leaving Eric was going to be the hardest part of leaving her life in Bon Temp behind.


	3. Chapter 3

The moment his lips touched mine I caught a stray thought from him. _Mine…_ But then the thought stopped mid-stream and I heard _… like fairy. _He meant me, my blood, he could smell a little more fairy in it. His mind went silent to me again after that, and I had to work hard to control myself from panicking. If he saw panic on my face or could feel it from my emotions he would know something wasn't right. I've never told anyone I picked up vampire thoughts occasionally and I certainly wasn't going to let on now. I pulled back from his lips and gave him my best smile.

"Why don't we go inside?" I asked. I didn't know why the smell of my blood had changed or how I picked up such a clear thought from him, but I suspected it could have something to do with being around my great- grandfather so much lately. After all, he did tell me that being around fairies would bring out the fairy in me, that it would reverse whatever my grandfather Fintan did to subdue my fairy nature. Since I don't normally need to worry about hearing vampire thoughts, I had automatically dropped my shields when Amelia left, when I didn't have to worry about staying out of her head anymore. I thought there was very little chance I would hear anything else from Eric's mind tonight, so I continued to leave my shields down; after all, it was draining to keep my telepathy in check constantly, and I was still recovering, so it tired me out quickly when I tried.

He followed me into the kitchen and sat the pizza on the table. I grabbed a plate and opened the box to take out a piece. It was pepperoni. As he heated up a bottle of blood and put the rest in the fridge, I sat down and started on my pizza.

"I see you are getting around well" he said "you must be healing pretty quickly. Has Niall or Amelia given you anything to help with the pain or healing?" I could tell he thought that maybe the change in my smell was something Niall had given me to help with my recovery, not that I was actually becoming more fairy. He was looking for an excuse for the change, while trying to keep the fact that he had noticed a change in my smell from me. I was glad to have an out.

"Yes, actually. Amelia has been giving me some teas for the pain. They really seem to help; especially in the morning when I'm the sorest. And my great- grandfather has given me several doses of some warm fruity drink that he said would help. He never mentioned how but I always feel better after drinking it." It was true they had both given me drinks. What I didn't tell Eric was that it had been several days since I drank the fruity drink of Niall's. He said I was healing well enough on my own now. _Now, please drop the subject,_ I thought. I hoped that he wouldn't press the issue any further. I picked up a thoughtful _hhhmm… _in his thoughts then they were silent to me again. It was strange to be picking up his thoughts twice in one night. I rarely hear vampire thoughts; and certainly not twice in the same night.

"So how is Bill doing?" I asked both because I hadn't heard about his condition from Pam in well over a week, and because I desperately wanted to change the subject. I really hoped he would stop thinking about me and all things fairy. If ever there was a time for him to take the bait and move on, it was now. I couldn't break my promise to keep my conversation with Niall a secret, and I didn't want to him to press it.

Surprisingly, he didn't.

"I am certain Bill will recover. We have had to drain him and pump synthetic blood back into his body three times now to rid him of the silver, but his color has started to return. I feel that we will have to drain him once more to get all the tainted blood out. Draining a vampire just once can leave them weak for a long time. It could take him a year or more to fully regain his strength, however, he is on the mend." Something about his answer struck me as odd. Not only did he completely drop the subject of me smelling like fairy, but he elaborated on Bill's condition more than I ever could have imagined he would. He didn't like to talk about Bill to me. Or any man. Heck, he said himself that if I had died during my torture he would have let Bill rot. I wasn't sure, but maybe he had picked up on my need to change the subject and had done just that.

"Speaking of those wounded in the fairy war how is your godmother, Claudine, recovering?" he asked. Wow, he actually seemed concerned for her. My night just seemed to be filled with surprises. Then again, he and Claudine had always shared in the task of protecting me. Maybe this was why he concerned himself over her recovery. They had a common ground. Certainly vampires do not normally care about the wellbeing of fairies. But I was more than willing to talk about her. I missed her terribly.

"She's recovering from what I hear. Niall says she still doesn't have the energy to make the trip through the portal, back to this realm. And he feels it's not healthy for either of us if we talk to each other over the phone because we will worry ourselves too much over the other. I only hear about her through him and Claude" I told him. "I really miss her. I hope to see her soon, and I hate that she is grieving over her miscarriage and I can't help after all she's done for me." I knew he probably didn't care how much I missed her or the guilt I felt at not being there for her, but I just really wanted to talk to him about it.

"Well it's quite normal that you would miss her, as she you, with the two of you in separate realms for so long. It must be hard on the bond. The proximity helps, which is likely why you never noticed it before with her living near" he told me. I didn't understand what he was talking about. What bond? Is he trying to say we have some sort of attachment to each other? Was this like the blood bond?

"What are you talking about our 'bond'? She's my godmother, we never formed a bond" I said though my voice was uncertain.

"I don't know that much about the godmother- godchild bond so maybe you should ask Niall more about it. But this is why she could always sense you in trouble and find you. You can't sense each other so far away, this is why you miss her" he said as if it should be obvious.

"But I've never felt her emotions like I can feel yours" I argued.

"No, it is not the same as a blood bond, but I do not know a lot about these things. Fairies are very secretive, as I have told you before. They do not like others knowing about them." He finished his True Blood and put the bottle in the trash. I had finished my pizza a minute earlier.

"Shall we move to the living room so you can relax?" he asked offering me his hand to help me stand. Once we were settled and I had a pillow behind me and my feet in his lap, we found a channel on the TV that was playing an _Angel_ marathon.

"So Amelia and Jason are getting married tomorrow night" I told him in an effort to catch him up on what little had happened in my life in the last couple weeks. Well, other than me finding out I'm over half fairy, something I didn't want to talk about yet, even if I could. I still had too many questions, and apparently more were coming up all the time.

"Pam told me. Apparently Amelia called her last night with the news. I must congratulate the witch when she returns tonight."

We talked about everything that had happened with him over the last couple of weeks, and anything new in the supe world. It was great. Talking like this, relaxing with him in front of the TV, it reminded me of the time he spent with me when he lost his memory. The subject of my recovery, Niall, and the change in the way I smell was never brought up again. Every few minutes I would pick up another thought from him, but his mind pattern always went back to the void I normally felt from vampires once the thought I heard passed.

-

Eventually, we heard Amelia's car coming up the driveway.

Amelia walked in the back door and straight into the living room. "Hey guys, did you have a nice catch up?" she asked us both, standing behind a chair.

Eric moved my feet enough to stand, sitting them back down on the couch once he was up. "It was very nice, thank you for giving us some time to talk alone." Then he turned to me "I must be going. I have some books and paperwork to finish up tonight at Fantasia since I do not have to entertain Nevada." Turning back to Amelia, he said "congratulations on your marriage to Sookie's brother, the panther, tomorrow."

He knelt and kissed me. "Goodnight, lover" he purred. With that he was out the door.

Not two minutes later he let himself back in the house and was standing in front of me and Amelia as she handed me a glass of sweet tea. "I smell three fairies in your woods" he said. I could feel his alarm through what was left of the blood bond. "I'm sure one of them is Niall, however the other two I could not identify. I did not smell them when I came in, since I flew up too close to the house and came in the back door. There were also two unfamiliar vampire scents. When I went out your front door I smelled an unfamiliar fairy scent and went to the woods to investigate. I caught the scent of the other there, as well as the vampires. I am certain the vampires have been sent by Felipe or Victor to investigate you for the connection to the fae they are think you have. I really cannot stay, and certainly cannot be involved in anymore fairy business; but promise me you will call Niall immediately. Do not wait until morning."

"Ok I'll call him right now" I said.

"Goodnight, Sookie. And please tell Niall to keep me informed as to whether he sent these fairies himself to guard you or if they are uninvited. If I need to send a vampire to guard your home at night, I can, he need only let me know. Also, maybe you should think about going somewhere and laying low for a while to discourage Felipe from his fascination in you." Then he kissed me again on the lips tenderly. "You must eat more. I feel you look as if you have lost weight during this ordeal." He told me as he pulled away, then he was gone again.

I needed to call Niall, but what he said about me looking thinner made me wonder. With Amelia's help, I got up and made my way to a mirror. When I stood Amelia's eyes widened a little but she didn't say anything.

"Jesus Christ Sheppard of Judea" I said as soon as I peered into the mirror. I looked thinner, leaner, that was for sure. I looked more toned, like I had been working out in a gym for the last several weeks. But beyond that, my complexion was clearer. My eyes, a deeper, truer blue. And they, as well as my hair shined with a radiance I had never had before. My hair was curlier and longer too; the shiny blond ringlets falling nearly to my waist. I looked beautiful, and very noticeably different. No wonder Eric had the thought I was more like fairy when he first saw me. I needed to talk to my great-grandfather immediately.

I walked straight out of the bathroom, leaving a still wide eyed Amelia behind, and into the kitchen to get my cell phone. I pressed my great- grandfather's number and waited for him to answer.

"Hello?" I heard his familiar voice on the other end.

"Grandfather, Eric picked up two strange fairy scents in the woods by my house. I'm sure one was Preston, but could you come and try to identify the other?" I asked. I thought we could deal with my new look once he got here. He would definitely notice.

"I will be there momentarily Dear One" he said and hung up.

I went back to the couch and sat down with a huff. Surely I am not changing already. Or maybe I am. That might explain me hearing Eric's mind so much, and the smell. I guess my appearance is part of that as well.

-

I did not have to think about it long before my great- grandfather, with Preston right beside him, popped into my living room. As soon as they saw me their eyes both widened. Niall silently walked over to the couch and sat beside me, his eyes never leaving mine. He reached up and pulled back a lock of my hair covering my ears. A slow smile broke on his face.

"Well dear one I was not expecting this so soon" he said smiling at me brightly. "Your spark is already breaking through." Then his smile faltered. "What did Eric say about your appearance? Surely he noticed?" he asked me. I reached up and touched my ears, which felt slightly point at the top, while answering him.

"Actually, he thought 'like fairy' as soon –" I said but stopped mid-sentence when I realized what I had just admitted. I just told my great- grandfather, Preston, and Amelia, who had been sitting in the chair across from me watching the whole exchange, that I heard Eric's thoughts.

"Go on child, hearing his thoughts is to be expected if your fairy spark is getting stronger" he said. I thought to myself well, _we will have to get back to that later_, but decided answer the question at hand.

"Well he thought about me being more like fairy, then he asked if you had been giving me anything for my injuries. When he I heard the thought I assumed he meant my smell, until I saw myself in a mirror anyway. When he left, he also mentioned that I had lost some weight and needed to eat more" I said gauging my grandfather for his reaction. Sure enough, he did not seem at all alarmed, instead a sly smile spread across his face.

"My child, I believe you willed him not to bring up anything more about your fairy scent or looks. Did you ever think, or rather hope, that he wouldn't say anything else about it?"

"Well yes, because you told me to not tell anyone else, so I knew whatever he asked, I wouldn't be able to explain. I was hoping my answer about your drinks would be enough and he would drop the subject" I said. "But wait, are you saying he stopped questioning me because I willed him to?"

"Yes child, your gift is getting stronger. The full fairies of your mother's family, which also possess your gift, can bend other's minds to their will in a way. They can also hear all beings, supernatural or otherwise, and project their thoughts." He told me this grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"So if I leave with you, I will still be able to hear the thoughts of everyone in the fae realm? Fairies and all the fae?" I asked somewhat dejectedly. Not having to keep my guard up all the time would have definitely been a plus to changing everything in my life and moving to another realm.

"No, it is a little different there. But we will talk of this later. I must go investigate the smell in your woods. Preston will stay with you to keep an eye out until I return" he told me.

"Wait grandfather, Eric said there are vampire scents out there too. Eric seems to think they were sent my Felipe to spy on me."

"Very well. I will be back." And with that he was gone.

-

It was nearly an hour later before he popped back into my living room. I could tell by the look on his face he was not happy.

"It was Dermot. I am certain he cannot get through the wards Amelia here has made, so he has been lurking in the woods. I have spoken with Eric and told him. He advised that we should hide you from Felipe and Dermot for a while" he said while taking a seat next to me. Then he directed a thought at me. _"My child, if you can hear me give me a nod" _he thought and I in return gave a light, hopefully not too noticeable, nod. "We need to come up with a plan to protect you from both Dermot and the vampire's control" he said out loud. Then again thought to me _"I am certain you can direct thoughts at me now, as well. Your powers have increased. Ask me something to try it out. Just think about putting the thought into my head."_

"_Grandfather, would you like a glass of tea"_ I thought at him. I still had my mental shields up to block out the thoughts of Amelia, and possibly Preston's too, but somehow he was directing thoughts through that.

"I would love a glass of tea my child" he said back to me. _"Go ahead and get the tea. Now, Eric has offered to have Pam and Felicia alternate nights guarding you and getting a couple Weres to guard during the day. If you do not want like this option, Preston already offered to guard you when I got your call earlier, but only until you make a decision about my offer. As you are already aware, your spark is getting stronger all the time in the presence of fairies. With Preston's presence it will inevitably get stronger. But, it will be less conspicuous to the vampires that are spying if it is only he, and not multiple people in shifts. You could continue to stay in your home until you decide if you would like to move to fae." _

This was not an easy decision to make. I didn't want to continue changing and gaining these new powers until I decided if I really wanted to move to the fae realm. On the other hand, I certainly preferred only Preston staying with me and guarding me, rather than people taking shifts babysitting me. I knew that it was necessary to make a decision between Preston and Eric's guards. I needed someone with me who could actually stand a chance against Dermot. In the end, while I really valued my independence, I wasn't stupid. I knew he could kill me, and if my great- grandfather and Eric both agreed I needed a guard, then I needed a guard.

"_Ok, grandfather. I prefer Preston. At least with him I won't feel so much like I am being babysat. I don't like the idea of being guarded in shifts." _I knew I would become more fairy- like around him, but at least I didn't feel like I was inconveniencing too many since it was just him. And I did enjoy his company. I did consider Pam a friend, but having Felicia or some Were I didn't know around would just be awful. Plus, it was beginning to sound like if I stayed in this realm for good I'd have go somewhere to hide out for a while anyway. It wouldn't matter if I looked different or like a fairy if I moved to where I was only around people who had never met me.

By this time I had gotten his tea and come back into the living room, sitting the glass on the table in front of him. Amelia eyed me a little suspiciously, no doubt realizing that my grandfather had not let me lift a finger of my own in his presence since my torture, but now was asking me to get tea for him.

"Preston, you will be staying with my granddaughter to guard her from Dermot and any vampires that might threaten her safety" my grandfather told Preston once I was seated. I was glad he had at least given me an alternative before making this decision for me. Still, I detected an ulterior motive behind him assigning Preston to me specifically, and not some other fairy. He could have had anyone come stay with me, but he seemed very happy I had agreed to let Preston, rather than Pam or the Weres. Preston also seemed more than eager to oblige, judging from the slight smile that suddenly graced his face.

"Yes your majesty" said Preston. My great- grandfather gave a few more instructions to Preston before turning back to me.

"I must be going, but I will be back tomorrow to talk more, and attend your brother's wedding" he told me before giving me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. _"Blood of my blood, get some rest and be careful. Claudine says to tell you she misses you terribly and wishes you well" _he thought at me. He then stood and popped out.

It seemed I wouldn't be getting any more of my questions answered tonight.

* * *

A/N: Sorry this took so long to get out. I had some computer problems, and I have been moving into the house I just bought. More questions than answers in this one, but it will make sense eventually.


	4. Chapter 4

After having a cup of Amelia's tea to help with the soreness from the day's activities, I let Preston know he could have Octavia's old room for the night and retired to my bedroom. It was a little strange for me to know Preston would be staying in my house for the night, considering our past, but it wasn't too hard for me to put those thoughts to the back of my mind when I crawled into my warm bed. I was exhausted and before my head even hit my pillow I was fast asleep.

I heard a few sounds from outside at some point during the night, then someone yell something from off in the distance, but I never woke up enough to realize exactly what was going on.

-

I woke up happy and refreshed the next morning. Looking over at my clock I noticed it was only ten till eight. I sat up and realized I felt very little soreness. 'Thank God for Amelia and her tea remedies,' I thought. I pulled up my shirt to do my daily assessment of my wounds and noticed that my abs, which now looked much firmer and slimmer, had only light scabs outlined by the pink rim of newly generated flesh. At this rate, the wounds would be nothing more than a distant memory in just a few more days. What was more disconcerting was my new body.

As I sat up and swung my legs over the side of my bed, I did a quick mental scan of the house. I could tell Preston was in the kitchen, and noticed Amelia upstairs. Judging by her register she was still fast asleep.

I went to my bathroom and allowed myself some time alone to stare at myself in the mirror. I had always been comfortable with the way I looked. I knew there were many women who were thinner or fitter than I was, and many more beautiful, but it had never bothered me before. Now, starring at my new self, I felt foreign in my body. I looked gorgeous, but it didn't feel like me. I looked at my new clear, deep blue eyes and my curly blond hair and I knew, logically, it was still me in the mirror. This was who I had been all along. I was the same person inside, my body was just becoming a reflection of the supernatural side I had always possessed within. I pulled my hair back enough to see the little points at the tips of my ears. I was sure the points would become more pronounced in time, more like my grandfather's and Claudine's. I did my best to take in what I saw in the mirror now, and embrace it as me. I needed to come to terms with the fact that this reflection was mine.

Finally, I put on a tank top and a pair of jogging pants, pulled up my hair into a messy knot, and made my way into the kitchen. I could smell the wonderful aroma of fresh brewed coffee and let out a contented sigh. I loved it when there was fresh coffee already made when I woke up.

"Mornin' Sookie," Preston said when I walked in. I waved lightly and smiled a little, trying not to talk to the beautiful man in my kitchen with my awful morning breath, since I hadn't brushed my teeth yet. I poured my cup and took a sip turning back to the table where Preston sat. I meant to tell him 'hello', but my breath caught in my throat the second I actually had a good look at him.

He was gorgeous. He was wearing nothing but a pair of pajama pants which were situated low across his hips, so the dip above his hipbones was visible. His muscular chest was lightly tanned and covered in a thin sprinkling of dark hair, and his arms rested on the table accentuating how toned they were. His dark auburn hair was disheveled and fell over his pointy ears to his jaw line, so only the tips poked out of the dark waves. I had definitely forgotten how perfect he looked. After a minute, I realized I was still staring.

"How was your night," I squeaked trying to clear my head. His tawny eyes met mine and he gave me a sly smile. Oh, he knew exactly the effect his appearance had on me.

"It was ok. Dermot came back and was snooping around the edge of the woods. I tried to chase him but he teleported away before I could catch up. He didn't come back and I eventually went to sleep. I need to call and give the Prince an update before it gets too late in Fae." He took another sip of his coffee. So that was what I heard in the middle of the night.

"I'm sorry, did you say late? What time is it there right now? How does time work there anyway?" I asked. I hadn't really considered that there might be a difference until now.

He looked at the clock which now said 8:15, then back at me. "Oh, it's around 11:15 at night there I guess. In Fae, the days are the same length as they are here, but there are no time zones. The seasons however, are much longer. One season in our realm lasts for over half of one of your years here. This is why it becomes hard for fairies to remember their exact age in human years."

I sat down after toasting myself a bagel, grabbing the cream cheese from the fridge, and a butter knife from the drawer. I spread the cream cheese and laid the knife back down on the table, finally looking back up at Preston. He had apparently been watching me the whole time.

"You know, I didn't think you could be much more beautiful than you already were" he admitted thoughtfully. "But seeing you now… fairy… you are stunning." I know I blushed ten shades of red. I could read his mind and he was truly sincere. He had always thought I was beautiful, from the first time he saw me. But if that was the case, why hadn't I heard from him since Christmas Eve?

"I have to ask. Why did you just leave me? Why didn't I ever hear from you again after Christmas Eve?" It was obvious he liked me. I would have been blind not to notice the smile that lit his face when my great- grandfather told him he would be staying with me 24/7 until the portals closed or Dermot was killed.

"The Prince ordered me not to see you again. It was his gift to you and he wanted to make sure nothing could taint it. I didn't even know you were fairy. He told me you were human. I didn't know any different until we were told the Prince's granddaughter was kidnapped and tortured during the fae war. That's when he revealed that you were more than half fairy. Apparently, he and Claudine were very adamant that your heritage remain a secret to everyone until they were ready to tell you themselves. Obviously, he had good reason. I can only imagine the trouble you could have been in if they hadn't kept your existence a secret, or if I had kept in touch and one day you woke up looking like this and they hadn't told you yet." His thoughts reflected a jumble of emotion, but mainly a mix of understanding and regret, or maybe sadness? Maybe he really had wanted there to be something between us, even when he thought I was nothing but human.

"Well I understand now, and I already told you I forgive you. But speaking of Claudine, I was wondering about something. Eric mentioned last night that Claudine and I have a bond and that's why I miss her so much now that she is in Fae. Can you tell me what he meant?" I was hoping he was still in open and honest mode, because this had been bothering me since Eric said it. He seemed eager to answer my questions concerning him, but I wasn't sure how he would react to the questions I had about other fairy matters.

"He's right. The godparent- godchild bond is one of the strongest bonds fairies can form. The only bond stronger is the bond between parent and child, and few, exceptionally strong, marriage bonds. When both parents die, or in your case, when the parent with the fae spark dies, a godmother or godfather is assigned. As soon as a godmother accepts the role, their bond to their godchild is formed, taking the place of the parent- child bond, but not quite as strong." He took another sip of his coffee. I wondered who assigned Claudine to me, but that was a question for my grandfather.

"So that's why she could always find me when I was in trouble? Why did I never miss her so much until now? And why can't I feel emotions from her like in a blood bond?" I was really curious about so many things and Preston was willing to finally give me a few answers. Eric had told me that fairies were secretive and I knew that first hand. I could never get answers from my fairy family before now; even when I had been in danger before I was kidnapped. I somehow knew my grandfather would answer anything I asked now that he wanted me to choose to stay with him, but I could have at least a few questions answered now, instead of during the limited time I had with him tonight.

"Well, you don't feel emotions between each other like in a blood bond. It is not so intrusive, though she gets your emotions stronger than you will ever get hers because she's your protector. My guess about you missing her more now is simply that your spark is getting stronger. The more fairy the godchild, the stronger the bond" he said, then paused thoughtfully. "There are fairy children in our realm that live with their godparent through their childhood, then continue to live close to them all their lives, just as we do with our parents. When a fairy bonds with another they will always be happiest when they are near them."

"I think can I understand that. So when the portals close, if I stay here, will I miss her even more?" I wanted to make sure I was fully aware of what my decision would mean when it came to this bond.

"No. Your bond would be broken, just as a blood bond with a vampire would break if the case was reversed. Bonds cannot last between different realms if no portals exist. But she is your family, and has risked her life for you, my guess is you would always miss her companionship." At least now I knew that whichever realm I decided to stay in, I'd only have to deal with the bond I have with the person in that realm. One way or the other, the bond I had to one of the two people who had protected me and saved my life the most would be broken very soon. But Preston was right, no matter which realm I chose, I would miss whoever stayed was in the other; bond or no bond, I had a connection to both Claudine and Eric that nothing could break. The realization struck me with a new wave of sadness.

I sat at the table with Preston, lost in my thoughts for a while. I finished my bagel and stood up to get a refill on my coffee. I automatically reached for his mug to give him a little more too, when my hand grazed his. I looked up, startled slightly by the contact, and saw the heat in his eyes.

Luckily at that moment I heard Amelia yawn from upstairs. I would have never heard her, if not for my sharpened senses recently. I knew Preston heard her too and he diverted his eyes, breaking our staring contest and pulled his hand back. I took his cup and got us both more coffee. I got her a mug too. I put Preston's mug back in front of him and Amelia's in front of another chair and sat back down with my full cup.

"Can you tell me a little more about my abilities with my telepathy?" I asked.

"From what I know of your mother's family, you can hear all supernatural beings. You can talk telepathically to anyone who is fae. You should be able to shield out everyone around you while still talking to someone telepathically if you are familiar with their mind. And you can intensify or devalue the thoughts of others according to your will." Amelia walked in and was listening in to what he had to say, while sipping on her own mug of coffee. She sat down, obviously interested in our conversation.

"So about willing people-- Is this anything like vampire glamour, where they can make others bend to their will?" I didn't quite understand this concept as it applied to me. Vampire glamour was very strong magic and I found it hard to believe I could do something like that with no more fairy powers than I have so far.

"No, not exactly. You can increase or decrease the value someone puts on a thought or feeling they already have. Like if someone is suspicious of something. You can decrease their suspicion so they essentially dismiss the idea of being suspicious in the first place. You can't just plant foreign thoughts and beliefs into their minds like glamour can." That sounded like it could be pretty handy. It also sounded like it could have been exactly what I did to Eric last night, but since I didn't exactly know how it was done, I couldn't be sure I had done anything at all.

I went back to my room to get a shower and brush my teeth. Once I was done fixing my hair I put on a pair of comfortable jeans that rode low enough on my hips that they didn't hurt my stomach, and a pretty royal blue blouse that brought out my eyes. These pants had always fit a little too tight on me, but now they felt pretty loose. I knew then that most of my clothes were going to be too big for my new body. I slipped into a pair of sandals that matched and the outfit was complete.

When I came back, Amelia was done with her breakfast and sitting in the living room with Preston watching TV. She looked over at me and smiled. "Octavia called while you were in the shower. She won't be here until late afternoon. I suggested she stay in a hotel in Shreveport. I didn't think you would want her to stay here and find out about everything." I agreed. It was best she not stay here with Dermot and the vampires out to get me.

I joined them settling on the opposite end of the couch from Amelia. Preston seemed at ease with us and we all laughed and joked easily. Amelia left to get ready for the day herself after several minutes.

-

Claude popped in later, just as we all were laughing at some new reality show on TV. "Good morning cousin," he said leaning over to give me a kiss on the cheek. It was actually just after noon, but now that Preston had told me of the time difference between realms, I assumed he had recently woken up, since it would still be very early morning there. "When grandfather said your spark had gotten stronger and you looked fairy now, I had to come see you for myself" he said taking the last seat on the couch, right between Amelia and me. "He wasn't lying, you look hot." I had to giggle a little at that. "So how do you feel?" he asked. I noticed he had a duffel bag in his hand, but decided not to ask.

"I feel much better. The gashes in my stomach are almost healed and I am less sore all the time. How's Claudine?" I asked. I hoped she was recovering as well as me.

"Her wounds are healed, though she is still very tired. She misses you so much though, she begs grandfather to talk to you or see you every time he comes to check on her." The news that she missed me just as much as I missed her only made me need to see her more. I needed to get my mind off of things, and I needed to get out of this house.

"Hey, why don't we go out for some lunch?" I asked everyone. "We could go to Merlotte's or somewhere and celebrate Amelia's wedding tonight."

"Sookie, you can't go out anywhere someone could recognize you. You don't look the same, not to mention you were supposedly in a near death crash a couple weeks ago, and now you don't have a visible scratch on you" Amelia told me. She had a point.

"Yes" said Preston, "and I am wearing the same clothes as yesterday. Your grandfather only got me clothes for the night when he came back last night." I didn't know my grandfather had come back last night but that explained the pajama pants Preston had been wearing this morning.

Claude immediately handed over the duffel bag he was carrying to Preston. "That's what these are for. I was told these should be everything you will need for a few days" Claude said to Preston. "So, now that is settled, I agree we should go out. I haven't been out in the human world in weeks. Let's go to Monroe for lunch. No one will recognize you there, Sookie, and we will be avoiding the lunch crowd."

-

Once Preston was changed, and Amelia and I put on a little make up, we all got into Amelia's car and made our way to Monroe. Claude and Preston got along with Amelia much better than Claudine ever had. It was strange to me that Claude could get along with anyone better than Claudine given his prickly personality compared to her happy and upbeat one. We decided on a little Italian place that Claude said was excellent.

There were only a few people eating inside when we got there, and we were seated immediately in a large booth in the corner. I noticed as we were escorted to our seats, that every eye in the place was watching our little group cross the restaurant. I lowered my shield just a little to read a few thoughts. It was the same thing I had noticed in people's thoughts when they saw the twins or my great- grandfather. They noticed the inhuman beauty of Claude, Preston, and now me. This revelation made me very uncomfortable. I quickly raised my mental shields once again, but Claude had already noticed my discomfort.

"You get used to it living in this realm" he whispered to me. "I personally enjoy the attention. It's something I will miss when grandfather closes the portals." Of course he loved the attention. I however, did not. I wasn't sure if this was something I could ever get used to.

Once we were seated I could feel a little magic surround us. Immediately everyone in the restaurant turned back to what they were doing before they noticed us.

I leaned in and whispered "who's doing that?" to the table at large.

"I am" Claude smiled. "I may enjoy attention, but I don't want everyone watching me eat" he said teasingly.

We ordered our food and talked about nothing in particular. The food was just as good as Claude had promised it would be, and we all left full and happy.

-

By the time we got back home it was after four and Amelia and I had to get ready for her wedding tonight. Octavia said she would meet Amelia at Jason's house at five, so once she got her hair fixed into a loose bun at the back of her neck, Amelia grabbed her dress and her make-up bag and left.

Claude had agreed to stay until our grandfather arrived so Preston could take a nap in the guest room. He hadn't gotten much sleep last night and clearly needed some. I could hear Claude laughing at something on the TV from my bedroom and I smiled a little to myself. I had never had much family except for Jason, and we were never on good terms for long. It was so nice to finally have a family that would stop by to check on me and spend time with me. I was really glad Claude and I had gotten closer. With all the changes in my life recently it was comforting to know I had family that cared about me. My great- grandfather, Claude and Claudine had fought for my life and continued to protect me. And lately, even Jason seemed to care.

I left my hair down so that it would cover my ears and put on a long sundress that went down past my calves. I had borrowed it from Amelia, since she was smaller than me and my clothes were all too big. I put on a cardigan and a pair of black sandals and looked myself over in the mirror. After I finished getting ready for the wedding, I went into the living room with Claude to wait for my great- grandfather.


	5. Chapter 5

From the moment my great- grandfather arrived I was asking him questions. Most of the stuff Preston had told me about my telepathy he confirmed immediately. He explained to me how important my mother's family was to fairies in negotiations among the fae as well as with other supernaturals. I was told that my mother's father, my grandfather, actually served on the royal court of fairies in a role much like the U.S.'s secretary of state. My family's peace keeping role has also put them at great risk from the same people who were after my great- grandfather.

"Wait, so was my real mom, Rosalyn, killed by them too?"

"Yes, dear one, you were only a few days old when your mother was killed in her sleep. You were found the next morning and both your grandfathers and I spoke with Corbett and made the decision to leave you with him. We had to act fast to hide you.

"As much as your mother's family and I wanted to stay in contact, we knew Fintan was right when he kept us away. We would attract too much attention to you. He had always intended on introducing you to our world once you grew up; but his death made it impossible for any of us to do that."

"How did Claudine watch me for all that time if none of you could get to me?" I asked. If she was a fairy like the others how did she get through my grandfather's spells?

"Claudine is your godmother. Even though Fintan's magic made it so we couldn't contact you in Bon Temp, Claudine could not be kept from you by magic because of your bond. I waited until you knew about the supernatural world and fairies before I met you so I didn't overwhelm you. Claudine introduced you to Claude, but she swore to Fintan that she would not tell you about your heritage. A fairy never goes back on their word."

"Wait like physically can't or just wouldn't ever go back on their word?"

"Well we physically can't refuse a request we've sworn to uphold, but we can evade anything vague enough to have a loophole even if we did promise. But, we also cannot directly lie to blood relatives, even without a verbal promise. So, if you directly asked me a question I can't lie, though I can deny you an answer at all."

"So, basically, everything you have ever told me is the honest truth. But, I'm guessing that is also why you tend to avoid some of the questions I ask?" He nodded with a little smirk on his face. He was glad I was catching on. Now I knew why he, Claudine and Claude had always been so evasive. They couldn't lie to me, only omit; something they liked to do quite often. But the bit about loopholes explained why Eric always warned me about fairies. Apparently they were experts at finding ways around things.

"Ok so my mom's family is where I inherited my telepathy?" He nodded. "Then where do all the other telepaths get it? Are they all related to my mom's family too?" I knew that if there was Hunter and Barry there had to be more.

"Yes distantly they must be related, because your mother's family is the only supernatural creatures to possess the gift. But it isn't as simple as that. Only descendents of your family that mate with someone with fairy blood can produce telepaths. Any children you have with a fairy will be telepaths, but none if your mate does not have some small amount of fairy blood. Your grandchildren however, could still have telepathy, even if their parents don't. Your brother isn't telepathic because his mother was no part fairy."

"So Remy, Hunter's dad, is somehow distantly related to me?" This was getting weird.

"Yes, but again, it could be a dozen generations ago. Any minute amount of fairy blood is all it takes. Hunter might be the first telepath from his family for several generations." So Hunter and I were at least distantly related on both sides of our family.

We continued on like this, me asking questions and him answering them until the moment we had to leave for the wedding. I hadn't even realized Claude left until great-grandfather called for Preston so we could leave. Since I still had no car and neither did my great-grandfather, he decided to use this opportunity to teleport with me for the first time.

"Ok Dear one, listen to my thoughts so you can feel how to teleport on your own" he told me. Almost immediately, I could feel him pulling in the air and energy around us as everything began to whirl and become hazy around me. We were being propelled above Bon Temps, and through the haze I could barely distinguish all the homes and buildings below. Within a couple seconds I could see Hot Shot below and could feel my great-grandfather searching for a hidden spot for us to land unnoticed. He found a group of several trees just off the road. I could feel a couple pops as we landed and he released the energy so we could come out of teleportation. After a couple more times of listening to his thoughts while he teleported with me and I thought I could probably do it on my own.

Preston was right behind us and I could hear the pop of him landing just as everything around me became clear again.

"I am going to mask your scent now that you smell fairy" my great-grandfather told me. "Pay attention to my thoughts for the spell, if you intend to stay in this realm you will need to know how to do this." I could feel a light tingling on my skin and smell the magic as it surrounded me. Then the smell and tingling faded and I could feel a light barrier around me. I noticed I was smiling slightly at the realization that I could learn to do this on my own if I wanted.

"To mask yourself as proficiently as I takes much practice and skill, my child. I am afraid even your cousins, Claude and Claudine, have yet to master this spell without depleting much of their energy. If you want to continue keeping company with vampires, this is something you must practice." I looked over and noticed Preston frowning a little. I went inside his head and had to hide my face at what I heard. He didn't like the idea of me masking such a wonderful scent for anyone. I didn't know whether to be flattered or embarrassed, but I couldn't help teasing him about it the moment we were out of earshot from my great- grandfather.

As my great- grandfather led us up to the grouping where the wedding would take place a pulled Preston back by his arm and leaned up to his ear. "I like the way you smell, too" I giggled. His pout immediately vanished and his eyes widened as he turned to me.

"You little snoop!" he whispered, but I could tell he wasn't upset. And my teasing had pulled him out of his mood.

We made our way to the center of the circle, or rather the group parted for us, and Amelia and Jason immediately came up to us.

Amelia hugged me and Jason went over and shook hands with our great-grandfather. Octavia had followed behind and have me a hug too. Amelia and Jason both radiated happiness; and it was contagious. No one in the gathering of Hot Shot panthers seemed any less than positively blissful. Even Holly, who Hoyt had managed to drag out to see Jason's marriage, seemed content tonight. I enjoyed hearing how happy Octavia was to be back in New Orleans with her coven. Everyone laughed and talked to each other until it was time to start.

Calvin raised his hands up from the middle of the circle and everyone quieted down so he could speak.

"We are here tonight for the marriage of Jason and Amelia. I would just like to thank everyone for supporting them as they begin their lives together. The change in Jason since these past few weeks has been remarkable and we can only contribute that change to Amelia. So without further ado, let's start the ceremony." Amelia gave me one more hug and Jason came over and gave me a peck on the cheek before they returned to their places in the middle of the gathering.

The ceremony was short and simple. Jason surprised Amelia with a beautiful yet simple white gold ring set that had a cushion solitare diamond in the center of the engagement ring, and alternating black and white diamonds set into the wedding band. Amelia on the other hand had decided on a small plain white gold band for Jason, since he would be wearing it around his neck most of the time. With his work and changing forms, a lavish ring for his finger was impractical.

Calvin and the rest of the pack had prepared a barbeque dinner with all the fixins' and music boomed through Hot Shot in celebration of the marriage. Everyone had a great time, my great- grandfather included. I worried he might feel out of place, since I was sure he was unaccustomed to these sort of gathering in faery. He however laughed and ate and even danced a couple dances with Amelia, Octavia and I. And after clearing our plates, Preston danced a few dances with me as well.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" he asked me as we walked out for our third dance of the night.

"I am" I smiled. "It's so nice to be around people again, even if I do have to work even harder now to block thoughts" I told him. The song was slow, so he effortlessly guided me around while I relaxed and enjoyed the calm of the night. At the end of the song we went back to our seats to find my great- grandfather waiting for us.

"I must be leaving. I have some things to tend to before it gets too late in faery. Will you two be leaving with me or would you like to stay a little later?" he asked.

"I'm getting tired and I am feeling a little stiff from all the dancing, so I think I'd like to go home" I told my great- grandfather. With that we set about saying our goodbyes and goodnights so we could leave.

"I'll come by tomorrow to pick up some things from the house" Amelia said when I told her I was leaving. "Jason and I are leaving for New Orleans in a few days to check on my house and do some shopping for his house here, since I will be staying here in Bon Temps. I want to get my clothes and things settled before we leave." _And I want to see you as much as possible before you leave._ She didn't say it but her thoughts were so clear on the matter there was no mistaking her certainty that I would be leaving with my great- grandfather in a few days. I gave her a small smile and a hug and found my way back to my great- grandfather.

Octavia had agreed to stay in a hotel, needing no more explanation from Amelia than you might be more safe and comfortable there. Infuses on the safe. She knew my life well. So with one last goodnight, my great- grandfather, Preston and I made our way back down the road away from Hot Shot.

We walked back to the same grouping of trees we arrived at. I did a quick scan using my gift to make sure no one was around.

"Ok I am going to take you with me again this time. But I will be back in a couple days and I want to see that you can teleport on your own by then. So listen to my thoughts as we teleport to your house and make sure you remember how to do it. Then maybe you and Preston can practice just around your home." My great- grandfather then took my hand and pulled me right beside him as the air and energy started to swirl. I really was tired. It seemed teleporting took some energy even if I wasn't the one doing the work, because the second the energy dissipated and we were in my living room I let myself fall back onto my couch.

"Dear one, you have worn yourself down tonight. Here," my great- grandfather said, "drink this it will help with the stiffness." He handed me a juice glass that he had pulled out of the air filled with a icy cold green liquid in it. I took a sip of it and it was like nothing I had ever tried before. It tasted a little sweet and tangy like a kiwi, but there was also another element of the drink that tasted a little herbal. It warmed in my mouth and felt like mint cooling my throat as I swallowed. This was different than the blue drink he gave me before.

"Thank you. Is there anything I can get for you? Or would you like to sit for a bit and watch TV with Preston and I?" I added Preston because he had already settled into the armchair near me, indicated he would not be going immediately to bed.

"No thank you, Sookie. I believe I will be leaving now" he said, then leaned down and gave me a kiss on each cheek before standing up and giving me one last smile before popping out.

"So" I said looking over to Preston. "You want to sit with me and watch TV for a little while?"

"Sure. Would you like to pick or should I?" he asked. I gestured for him to pick since he already had the remote from the chair. He found a rerun of Survivor and we watched the rest of it and the Survivor that followed.

"So did your great- grandfather answer all of your questions?" Preston asked during a commercial break. I took my last sip of the drink my great- grandfather had given me and put the glass on the coffee table before looking up at him.

"He answered everything I could ask. And that was definitely a lot. But I didn't have time to ask ALL of my questions. I don't know that given an entire day he could answer every question I have" I told him laughing a little.

"Well you know if there is something I can answer I will, and I'm sure you'll get the rest straight from Prince Niall's mouth given time to ask the questions" Preston said smiling at me. The show came back on and we watched the rest in comfortable silence. Once the second episode ended Preston turned off the TV and we both got up to go to bed.

I noticed that my legs and stomach were in fact, not at all stiff like they had been just shortly before. I was very tired but in a good way. I was happy because I knew deep down my best friend and my brother were truly going to have a happy life together and I just got to experience the first day of it with them. Happy because my great- grandfather had answered some questions I have had for a very long time about my family and my gift. And happy because I was finally able to get back to life now that I was nearly healed.

"Night" I said to Preston as he went into the guest room across the hall from me.

"Sleep well" he said then closed the door behind him.

I changed into a nightshirt and shorts and washed my face, brushed my teeth and hair and crawled into the bed. I thought about today and all the things I had learned. I thought about everything my great- grandfather had said about my family and my telepathy. Now that I was officially fairy I would definitely have to watch the kind of promises I made. I drifted off to sleep with a smile on my face.

I woke up a couple hours later in tears. I realized I was still screaming and I looked around frantically to make sure it was just a dream. I couldn't move because I had twisted the covers all around me trying to fight my imaginary attackers. A whole new round of screams came out when I realized someone was beside my bed.

"Sookie! Sookie! It's ok!" Preston yelled and put a steadying hand on my shoulder to calm me down. All of a sudden I felt a calm wash over me nearly as strong as what I used to feel through my bond with Eric. I looked down at Preston's hand and realized he was touching my bare shoulder from where my shirt had fallen down on that side. I had lost enough weight that the collar of my shirt didn't even stay up anymore, not that it wasn't big on me to start with; but wow.

I shook my head to clear my mind of my thoughts on weight loss, and turned to look up at Preston.

"How did you do that?" I asked him. He knew what I meant. Usually it took me an hour or more to calm down after a Thing 1 and Thing 2 nightmare. I hadn't had one in a few days, but when I did Amelia or Jason usually came in and stayed with me for the night because another presence in the room with me stopped the nightmare from coming back.

"It's really late and I'm tired. I just came in to make sure you were ok after I heard you screaming. Could we please talk about it in the morning?" I would have demanded an answer right then, if I didn't see how droopy (and adorable) his eyes looked. I also picked that moment to yawn myself, so I just nodded. He gave me a grateful smile and turned to walk away, but I freed a hand from my covers and caught him by his arm.

"Can you stay in here so I don't have another one?" I don't know what came over me but he was the only person in the house and if he didn't stay I knew I'd be waking up screaming again in a couple hours. Plus, I felt comfortable around him. Like the uneasiness I had only went away in his company.

"Yeah, I can do that… but you are going to have to give up some of those covers" he said smiling at me. I managed to break free of the covers and, after adjusting my shirt so it covered my stomach again, lifted an edge for him to have. He crawled in as I scooted to the other side to give him room. By the time he got comfortable I could barely hear his 'goodnight Sookie' before I drifted back off to sleep. Luckily this time I remained nightmare free.

A/N: Finally I manage to post another chapter. Hopefully the wait for the next won't be as long... Thanks to everyone who reviewed and likes my story!


	6. Chapter 6

I woke up the next morning fully rested. Somehow during the night Preston and I had both ended up in the middle of the bed, him spooning me. His morning hardness was pressed up against my backside and I slowly realized he was filtering me his dreams since his hand was resting on my bare arm. Since I wasn't altogether awake, and I wasn't expecting it, I got a detailed picture of Christmas eve night when he and I had sex in my bed from his perspective.

I flew out of the bed with speed I didn't realize I possessed and was on the other side of the room, with my back pressed against the wall, in a blink. I just stood there for a moment wide-eyed, as Preston began to stir. Within just a couple seconds he bolted up from the bed, staring back at me trying to figure out what had happened to startle me.

As realization started to form in his expression I started feeling increasingly embarrassed. Somehow he was picking up on that because a crooked grin formed on his face before I could even feel the heat of my blush across my cheeks. I could see a light glowing in his eyes and ducked my head as I tried to think of something to say. But when I looked down my body was glowing slightly. Apparently, the light I saw in his eyes was me.

"Don't worry, it's just your spark. You'll learn to control it eventually, but until then, you'll glow sometimes when you experience strong emotions. The stronger the emotion, the brighter your spark will shine." I still couldn't look up at him to acknowledge what he said. Instead I mumbled to excuse me and bolted into my bathroom, locking the door behind me.

Once I used the bathroom, washed my face and brushed my hair, I came out of the bathroom and noticed the shower in the hall bath was running. While Preston was in the shower I started a pot of coffee and turned on my radio while, getting out everything to make us a big breakfast. We would both be using a lot of energy today while he helped me learn to use my powers. Led Zepplin's Ramble On was playing and I was singing along when I opened the cabinet to get out my skillet. I grabbed it firmly to pick up the heavy pan. Before I even registered what was going on I could feel my skin sizzling as it burned against the pan. I dropped the pan but it felt like a layer of skin stuck to the handle and I started screaming from the pain.

I was screaming and my eyes were watering, doubled over, holding my right hand with the other and trying to comprehend what just happened, when Preston came running in, pulling up a pair of boxers as he rounded the doorway to the kitchen.

Under normal circumstances, I would have been unable to stop myself from admiring his body. But my hand hurt so bad I didn't even give him a second glance; I was spending all of the available brain power that wasn't registering the pain trying to figure out what caused it.

"Sookie let me see!" he said grabbing my burned hand by the wrist as my screaming calmed to a whimper. "What did you do?" I just nodded toward the skillet above our heads, hanging half out of the cabinet where I left it. As soon as he saw it above where we were both leaned over he picked me up and shoved us to the other side of the kitchen in front of the sink.

"It's iron! Why were you trying to grab iron?" In that second I understood exactly what had happened. I'm more fairy than human now. And with that, I have all the same weaknesses.

Once we finally both calmed down, he explained to me how to release my true form (which is apparently what I do when I glow) and that I would be healed by the time I finished cooking breakfast if I did. He also told me I was lucky I did that now, not later, because if my fairy essence continued to get stronger from my contact with other fairies it could have eaten my skin down to the bone with that little contact. Meanwhile he went to his bag and got his clear gloves so he could remove all the iron cookware from my kitchen. I was a little emotional, having to get rid of all Gran's skillets, especially since they had managed to survive the fire Charles Twining had caused to my kitchen last year. I felt like I throwing away a little bit of her, when I didn't have that much anyway, but Preston told me I couldn't eat off of them even if I did use the gloves to touch them. Anything I cooked in them would give me food poisoning for days, but he could be sick for weeks since he was full fairy. I wish someone had told me that before I grabbed that handle.

It took me about 15 minutes to finish with breakfast, which I cooked in a non-stick pan I had, and by that time all the iron was out of my kitchen. I did my best not to dwell on it.

My hand was almost completely better and I brought both mine and Preston's plates to the table and got us both a cup of coffee to go with it. He came back in and sat down, now dressed in a pair of low rise, loose fitting jeans and a snug deep orange colored shirt that made his eyes look incredibe. His hair was hanging in loose, wet ringlets and his pointy ears poked out. I unconsciously touched the little points that were now at the tops of my ears as I pulled my hair back behind them. They were more pronounced today, making it obvious to anyone who saw them that I was definitely not human. My hair covered them well, which helped me feel less self-conscious, but I didn't want to get my hair in my food, so while I was eating they would have to show.

"Sookie, don't even think it" Preston scolded out of nowhere after taking a sip of his coffee. I looked up at him incredulously. "You were always beautiful, and just because the fairy is showing through now, that shouldn't make you any more or less self-conscious. Be proud of who you are and what makes you unique from the ordinary humans around you."

"How do you do that?" I asked, somewhat irritated. "You didn't even see my face but you could tell exactly how I felt. And last night you calmed me right down, even though I was near hysterical from my nightmare."

"Well, its one of my gifts." I just looked at him like he'd grown three heads. "You know how all fairies have different magical gifts; like your family's telepathy?" I nodded. "Well different fairy families have different powers that are inherited." He waited for me to acknowledge that I understood. "The Brigant side of your family has a power I want to help you try out today, by the way. But, my mother passed on the gift of empathy to me, while I inherited my power to change race or form from my father's side. You started feeling self-conscious when you touched the points of your ears so I figured that was what you were worried about. I can feel your emotions, and if I touch you, I can manipulate them to an extent. Most fairies inherit a gift or two from each of their parents, and most of us have gifts or talents that are unique to us as well. My mom can manipulate without touch, but my empathy isn't quite that strong…"

"So, wait, how many powers can one fairy get?"

"Just like anything else that's inherited, some gifts are passed on more frequently - such as telepathy in your family. Still, like hair color, powers are passed down by chance, and there can be variations. Then the combination that a child gets contributes to the talents that are unique only to them. All fairies have several powers beyond the universal fairy powers." I kinda figured that was the case, but it was still a little daunting to me that fairies have so many powers at their disposal; that maybe I had a special combination of powers that were unique only to me. I had only ever seen Amelia use magic in any great quantity, and to imagine that I was that much more powerful than even her and had never known it was overwhelming.

When we finished eating and cleaning the dishes together- he washed and I dried so as not to get the new skin on my hand wet- I went and got dressed in the only jeans I could find that would still stay up- I was definitely going to have to go get some new clothes soon- a Louisiana State hoodie, then put my hair up into a messy bun so it would be out of my way. I took a brief look in the mirror, still finding it hard to believe that the person looking back was me. We went outside so I could practice teleporting. The air was still cook and we settled in the front yard because Preston insisted we needed a large open space to start.

"Ok, why don't you just try to pop over to that side of the yard by the trees and back?" I just nodded, already trying to gather my concentration and summon the memories of exactly how my great- grandfather did it. I took a deep breath pulling in the energy as I did and focusing my aim across the open yard. I landed with a pop, falling to my knees from the force of the energy around me leaving, but I was exactly where I had aimed. I turned around and looked back at Preston with a big grin on my face. He grinned back. After righting myself and dusting the grass off my knees I took a deep breath and, with a pop, I landed right beside Preston once again. This time I didn't even fall!

"Yyyaayyy!" I yelled jumping up and down pulling him into a hug. I knew it wasn't very far, but just succeeding in teleporting on my own seemed like a huge accomplishment to me and I was going to celebrate the moment.

"Why don't we make a little game out of it?" Preston asked smiling at me. I was so excited to use my new power I just nodded excitedly. He laughed. "We'll play fairy tag then" he laughed. "You teleport somewhere on your property and I'll follow you and try to tag you before you pop away. Then once I tag you, you try to get me. Maybe you can even try out a little more of that fairy speed you found getting out of bed this morning" he winked. Then he laughed when I blushed.

"Ready?" When I nodded he did a countdown from three. I immediately teleported behind the shed at the back of my house. I ran around the side when I felt him coming and popped over to the edge of the cemetery, hiding behind a gravestone. I touched down in two more places before he managed to tag me, but I was giggling the whole time we played. It took me eight teleports before I could catch him. I had to use my telepathy to read the direction his signature was traveling to finally tag him. I couldn't read his thoughts in mid- teleport so I had to guess his destination. We were both laughing hysterically and trying to catch our breath after I finally grabbed him by the shirt.

"You catch on really quick…" he laughed. "Your teleports are already nearly as fast as mine. But I'm still pretty sure you cheated." That brought on a whole new round of laughter from me. We were both thirsty and I needed a break.

When we finally got in and sat down with a big glass of tea each, no lemon of course, I realized my stomach wasn't the least bit sore after I spent the last ten minutes doubled over with laughter. My stomach must finally be healed from the torture. We fixed sandwiches for lunch. I ate three sandwiches, more than I could remember ever eating for lunch. Preston insisted that I needed it when I was using so much power, apparently teleporting was a very energy consuming activity.

We spent some more time practicing teleporting, and I started trying to bring objects along with me. I managed to teleport my recliner into the front yard, but it took me a couple tries to get it back in. It was so bulky and it was harder for me to surround it with the right amount of energy for the trip back. I managed to teleport Preston across the yard without his help, but one of his shoes was ripped to shreds by the energy and landed on the ground around our halfway point. Luckily his foot was unharmed. I promised I'd buy him a new pair after I apologized for the fourth time.

We tried using my defensive shield, which he said was a Brigant trait most everyone in our family inherited. He would press against it, trying to get to me, and I would flex letting him come closer or pushing him further away. It was like I could form an invisible force field around me so he couldn't get any closer than I would let him. This would have been convenient to learn **before **the fairy war! Unfortunately I still wasn't strong enough to hold him off when he came charging at me at fairy speed. He tackled me and my shield busted. We both flew backward landing a few yards away on our backs. It knocked the breath out of both of us, and I couldn't get in a good breath for all the silent laughing I was doing. At that point I was exhausted from using so much energy for my new powers, so we decided to call it a day.

I started a pot of chili to cooking when we came in for lunch, so I put the finishing touches on it and put a batch of cornbread into the oven. We both showered, him in the hall bath and me in the master, while everything was finishing and I got to the kitchen the same time as Preston, both of us dressed in pajama pants and a tank top. As I was getting us both a bowl of chili and cutting the cornbread I noticed a fairy register on my front porch. Preston had noticed it too because our heads both snapped up to look at each other at the same time. I was quickly overtaken with panic, as all the memories of my kidnapping rushed back. After all if it was family they would have popped right into the house, or at least, would have knocked, rather than just sitting out on my porch like they were waiting.

Then, Claudine popped right into the kitchen, sword up like she was landing in the middle of a battle. I would have run to hug her if she didn't have a look on her face that said she was ready to kill. She looked around, surveying the kitchen quickly, before she finally lowered her weapon and turned to smile at me. I ran up and gave her a hug and kiss before she 'sent' me: _I felt panic. What's wrong?_


	7. Chapter 7

Once we all felt sure the fairy on the porch was no immediate threat, we decided to go see who it was, and more importantly what they wanted. I could have attempted to delve into the fairy's mind to figure out these things myself, but it would have taken much time and effort. After all, I was inexperienced in reading the complex brain patterns of the fae.

The only immediate thoughts I picked up were confused as to why he (the thoughts had the vibe of a man) couldn't get any closer to the house than the bottom step, and anxiety that he would be killed before he was allowed to speak. _Well at least Amelia's wards seemed to be holding strong._

I knew from Preston's thoughts that our guest had at least half a dozen other emotions which were secondary to the confusion and anxiety since he had attempted to access the fairies danger to us just as I had.

Preston himself seemed to be quite set on worry as his main emotion. Worry for himself sure, and worry for the grandchildren of the fairy Prince as well; but more than that, he was worried about me. Not me, as in Prince Niall's great-granddaughter, who he has sworn to protect. But me, as in the woman he cares for who has already been through 'more danger and peril than anyone should have to in one lifetime'. I read it directly from his thoughts. Apparently when faced with stressful situations Preston was a loud broadcaster. It was really touching.

Claudine on the other hand became a blank mask anytime she was faced with possible danger. I had learned this from the many times she had saved my life; so it did not surprise me that even though now I could read some of her thoughts they were all very calm and focused on the door. She was like that, no panic or worry, just focus and strategy.

Ultimately, the decision was for all three of us to make our appearance at the doorway to see what the fairy wanted together. After all, he couldn't come any closer than the step he was on, and if a fight became inevitable, Preston and Claudine would be able to take him down together before he could hurt me.

So we made our way through the house, me between my companions, Preston leading us and Claudine bringing up the rear. Each of them carried a sword and I had a handy little iron dagger that Preston gave me at the last minute. At the door Preston didn't bother looking through the peep hole, but did turn on all the outside lights. He flung the door open with confidence you would expect from a skilled fighter. We all crowded the doorway as the fairy on my bottom step stood and turned to us slowly.

Dermot.

At first I thought my eyes must be deceiving me. He could be the identical twin of my brother. I thought for sure that everyone must be exaggerating the resemblance they shared. Obviously they were not. The only visible difference I could see was that Dermot's eyes were a shade darker and his hair slightly longer, just so it would cover the tips of his ears. I wondered if all fairies' hair was thick naturally so as to disguise the points of our ears. The silly things I think of when faced with danger.

"I just want to talk, maybe you will help me?" he said, holding his hands out to show he held no weapons.

"Very well" stated Claudine. "Tell us what you came to say and we will decide if we should help." Her voice held a diplomatic and impartial tone I had never heard from her.

She was always so warm and sincere that it flowed from her as she spoke, but not now; though her voice wasn't ice, it was definitely not warm.

"I have never meant to hurt you, my dear nieces; either of you" he said looking between us as he spoke.

"Breandan convinced me that my father was responsible for the death of my brother, Fintan. I loved Fintan dearly, and was so grief-stricken when he died; I agreed to help Breandan in his plot against my father without even hearing the plan. I never thought his story could be false, after all, you can't lie to blood. I have been by his side since then for that reason." He turned to me then, sadness and regret in his eyes.

"I swear I had no part in killing your father, dear Sookie. Or his wife, your adopted mother." I gave him a little nod, acknowledging the truth in the vow. "My father hated me for going against him, but I did not care. Not until I found out what happened to the two of you at Breandan's hands. To think of how you were both beaten and tortured." He shuddered a little and I knew he at least had some idea of what Claudine and I had been through, physically and emotionally.

"I hid, refusing to fight you, and unable fight against him. I had sworn fealty. I am tormented by how easily I was tricked into siding against my own family, but now if I don't gain father's forgiveness I will be left alone in this realm, without the company of a single fairy." He was near tears, and I genuinely felt sorry for him.

Even if I couldn't read his mind or rely on our blood relation to assure me he told the truth, I would have known just by the earnestness and defeat I saw in his eyes. The only thing that I questioned was how Breandan managed to convince Dermot his brother was killed at the hands of their own father. Nor did I like the way he told me he had no part in the murder of my dad, yet clearly knew about it and still stayed on Breandan's side. _But I had not lived in his shoes_, I reminded myself_. _I could not know the circumstances he was under just as he could never know my reasons for killing the people I had. I decided then that I would forgive him and help too, if I could. After all, we were family and we had all been through a lot; wasn't it time to put all this behind us?

I looked to Claudine to be sure we agreed. Her eyes held unshed tears at his confession and I knew at that point we would do everything we could to help him. I nodded to Preston to lower his sword. Dermot might be wrong about having not a single fairy as company in this realm (as I had not made my decision yet) but we would do everything we could to help him gain Niall's forgiveness.

I scanned his mind once more just to be sure there was no threat and invited him in so we could talk and plan. He immediately tackled Claudine and me into hugs, kissing us on each of our cheeks several times.

I spooned out bowls of chili and dished out cornbread for everyone and we all settled in the living room to talk. Normally I don't eat in my living room, but we all felt planning would be easier if we were all comfortable. Claudine has eaten with me a couple times and always liked it, though I got the feeling that for her, my food was exotic, like Indian food is to me. Dermot ate like he hadn't had a meal in weeks, going for seconds then thirds. I knew he had lived most of his life in this realm, but I suspected that the last several years at least he had spent as a nomad, trying to stay under the radar of his father. Living like that probably doesn't afford you too many home cooked meals.

We knew Niall would be calling or stopping by soon when he found Claudine was no longer in Faery, he also promised he would be stopping in assess how my use of my powers was coming, and we hoped we could get him to listen long enough to understand Dermot's side, just as we did. Niall was stubborn and prideful, but we all knew he loved his family. Once we had a rough plan, to ambush him with Dermot and team up against him forcing him to listen, Dermot had another pressing matter for us to discuss.

"I have heard rumblings from Vampires stalking around your woods that a coup has been planned to abduct you for the king of Nevada. He knows your father was a quarter fairy and feels he can use your talents as well as your blood for his own gain. He thinks that the fairy race can do nothing about it, even they wished to, since you 'are of so little fae you have no spark'." Claudine gasped and the look on her face became fierce. "But of course, he does not know (as few else do) that you in fact do have a fairy spark. A very strong one. I have a plan to perhaps take care of his over-ambitiousness, as well as provide payment to Eric the Northman for his selfless protection of our Sookie here. That is if you are all willing to hear it."

We spent another hour arguing over Dermot's plan. I thought it was brilliant. It was clearly well thought out and held the sly and cunning I would expect of the son of a fairy prince. Claudine and Preston, however, felt it put me in far too much danger and there were too many factors involved to ensure I would be completely unharmed. In the end, we worked out a way we could all agree on, as long as Claude was willing to help. It required a lot of fairy magic and some quick maneuvering, but it was promising. A couple weeks ago I would have laughed at the idea that Claude would risk himself to help me, but tonight I actually felt fairly confident he would be willing to join in on our plan.

We all caught up on everything in our lives recently and answered each other's questions back and forth for a long time. Eventually we all got tired enough we were having trouble not yawning in the middle of our sentences and decided it was time for bed.

Claudine of course used far too much energy in teleporting between realms to be able to go back by herself. Since we missed each other so much, we decided that she should sleep over instead of having Preston take her back to the other realm or her home in Monroe. Plus, our plan for grandfather and Dermot dictated her staying with me. So she was rooming with me in my bed.

Since Preston already had his things in the bedroom down the hall from mine, I invited Dermot to stay in Amelia's room. I knew she wouldn't mind, after all it really wasn't her room since she's married my brother now.

Claudine and I got fresh sheets and changed the bedding so it would be clean for him. I found an old shirt of Jason's for him to wear. Preston lent him a pair of his boxers and sweats and he was directed to the bathroom so he could have a shower.

We all went our separate ways after hugging once again and saying our goodnight.

"Sweet dreams" Preston whispered to me and kissed my forehead before releasing me from the hug.

As soon and Claudine and I were under the covers she looked over and whispered "spill".

"Claudine!" I whispered harshly. I was embarrassed to be caught and didn't want to talk about it. But she just lay back with her arms crossed, waiting for me to give up and talk. So, as quietly as I could (after all there were other fairies with super hearing in the house too), I told her about the last couple days with Preston.

I trusted Claudine completely. Not just to save me but also to be there for me. Always had. She had been there for me when I was heartbroken over my first love, Bill, and I knew she would be supportive of me, whatever I choose. I hoped maybe I could be that for her one day too.

"I just can't let myself care for him yet, Claudine" I concluded. "I don't know what I'm going to do! If I stay here I'll never see him again; and since I haven't decided yet I can't let myself like him."

"Well rather than sit in anguish over Preston, why don't we weigh out the two choices you have about the rest of your life?" she said rather logically. So we did.

I talked about what I'd be leaving behind here versus what I would never get to have. We discussed my danger magnetism and the safety Faery would offer. My friends and Jason, versus my family in the other realm. The fact that now I would almost certainly outlive everyone I knew here and then some, against the fact that everyone in Faery had an equally long life expectancy. It went on for hours.

When I left something out, either way, Claudine would pipe up to add it to the list. She was trying her hardest to help by being impartial, though I knew she wished I would go with her.

She listened to my concerns and I listened to what life might be like on the other side. It felt good to say everything out load to someone who understands, but in the end I was only minimally less conflicted than before. It was after 3 am before we decided to call it a night.

We made plans to call Claude when we woke up and go clothes shopping in the morning. Claudine insisted that they had no need for the money they had here and that she was going to spend hers on buying me some clothes that actually fit and she approved of. I argued with her that she didn't have to and I couldn't accept it, but in the end of course I relented. It would be so nice to spend time with them, and I did need some clothes that actually fit. So I thanked her for being so good to me and told her goodnight.

Just before sleep took me I whispered "I am so glad to have you for a cousin and godmother. I love you, Claudine." I opened my eyes a crack to see a tear fall to her pillow.

"I love you too, Sookie."

* * *

**A/N: Sorry guys, for some reason some of my formating keeps getting erased. If things looked bunched or don't make sense let me know and I'll either try to fix it or try to help clarify. Thanks to those who have reviewed and/or put me on their alerts and favorites! It makes me happy to know you like the story.**


	8. Chapter 8

I stirred the next morning as I heard the light sound of tapping from nearby. I would've never heard it with my human ears, but with my new fairy hearing it brought me out of the first full night of restful sleep I'd had since before the Fairy war. I didn't know why but I felt more peacefully content than I could ever remember and I didn't want to open my eyes and return to the real world of problems and decisions just yet. But that damned tapping just wouldn't go away! I rolled over onto my back and noted that Claudine was moving next to me as well. The sound must have woken her up too.

Slowly opening my eyes with a slight smile on my face, I saw two dark figures standing at the end of the bed.

"AAAAHHHH" I screamed jumping back to the point that I was pressed in a ball against my headboard. Claudine sat bolt upright at my yelling and looked around confused and frantic. We both realized at the same time that both the sound and the figures belonged to Claude and our grandfather, Niall. For the second day in a row I had been startled awake. I seemed to be on a role and I wasn't sure I liked the pattern. I came down from my adrenaline rush slowly and the glow subsided from me as my breathing began to slow. I eyed Claudine, and her glow was slow in leaving her as well. I wondered if that was one of the ways she was weak, since Preston said a fairy could control the glow easily once they gained control of their magic. They both eyed us, arms crossed and feet tapping the floor in harmony, trying to fake a scowl when the amusement was clearly showing in both their eyes.

"Do either of you care to explain why Claudine's house was empty this morning and I could not get Sookie's cell phone all morning?" _All morning? _I glanced over at the alarm clock on the night stand.

"Eleven ten! I can't remember the last time I slept this late! Claudine we have to get ready if we are going to go shopping." I told her completely avoiding answering the two men at the end of our bed. Her face lit up and she clapped her hands and jumped out of bed and dashed toward the bathroom, flashing me a grin over her shoulder, while I headed to the closet. Both of us ignored the daggers that were being stared at our backs as we maneuvered the room.

"Shopping?" Claude asked "and did you have any plans of asking me?" he huffed immediately annoyed. "If we are planning on restocking a wardrobe plus your essentials, Claudine, you are going to need more than three sets of arms or the humans will start to get suspicious of your strength. Plus, I need to be there to make sure you two don't push yourselves too far. Preston would never intervene." He stopped talking for a minute and put his index finger to his lip. "Yes, this is perfect. Of course it gives me and you the opportunity to use both our checking up, Claudine. I have a few things I will need also. Ok, then I will pop over to our Monroe home and get my car and clothes for you and I'll change then I'll pop back and we will eat on the way! Be back soon!" He didn't wait for us to reply as the energy started to gather around him.

"Wait" Great- grandfather spoke up in a firm voice. We all stopped and turned to look at him wide-eyed. _Crap! _ I knew that had been too easy.

"I don't know how you ended up here Claudine, but I told you no teleporting and I meant it." He said looking at her through the open doorway of the bathroom. "Then neither of you even contacted me to let me know? You know I just got over the worry and heartache of nearly losing, not one, but both of you and then you just disappear and I don't find out until this morning when the nurse-elf comes to check on you and finds an empty house." I couldn't make eye contact. I was in my mid-twenties and felt like a scolded five year old; and that wasn't even directed at me.

"You two, come here and look at me when I am talking to you." We both walked over and stood in front of him. "Now, you are both adults and I shouldn't have to scold you like little children. Do you agree?" He stopped and waited for us to nod. "So, I will only say this once. You two are mature and intelligent fairy women and have been through your share of trouble and heartache. But you acted foolishly and had me terrified this morning as the staff and I searched the estate. I still remember vividly what each of you looked like when you were found that night" he said looking at each of us briefly as we cringed, and then shaking his head as if to shake the memory. "Now I am telling you, not as your Prince, but as your grandfather. You will let the elves and your family take care of you" he said pointedly looking at Claudine. "You will only travel with a guard. And you must spend all of this today because I am having my elves come and take any of these clothes in your closet and dresser that are not set aside to actually keep." I looked up at him confused for a moment at what he had just put in my hand. Claudine on the other hand was already a step ahead of me.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Oh… and, I'm sorry grandfather. I'm kinda glad I disobeyed your orders in a way, because Sookie and I slept more peacefully knowing we were both safe than we have in weeks, not that I meant to, but I know I shouldn't have and I should have called. And-"

"Shh-" he cut her off. "I understand. But, do not disobey me again. If you two weren't so freshly recovered I wouldn't be going so easy on you." Claudine just nodded back. By this time I had finally caught up and realized what was sitting in my hand. There had to be at least ten hundred dollar bills there in my still open palm. I looked back up to protest when Claude snatched it from me shooting a cold glare before leaning over to my ear.

"You'll spend all of it and not say a word or we will have to listen to him lecture the two of you for another half hour. He will still get his way. Your distraction did work. At least partly; so don't push it. I'll hear the plan on the way and I'll get him out of here in a minute. Apologize before he remembers to punish Preston or notices Dermot." I turned wide-eyed, realizing he knew the whole time and was playing along. He jerked his head quickly while shoving the money in his pocket.

"Great-grandfather, I'm sorry too!" I cried rushing to join the hug. "I should've called to let you know! My nightmares are just so horrible… I wake up so scared…" I cried giving as many half truths as I could. Claudine and I both hugged him trying our best to overpower him with our combined scents.

"Ok, grandfather your council meeting is in minutes. The girls must get ready and I need to pop over my car. Let's go."

"Very well my dear ones. I love you girls. I will see you both tomorrow since you will be staying here tonight" he said looking at Claudine who gave him a decisive nod "and I expect your decision" he said turning to me and giving me a pointed look. "Enjoy your day!" He then gave us each a quick kiss on our foreheads and disappeared. Claude was right behind him with a wink in our direction. Claudine waited several seconds before wrapping me in another hug.

"You were brilliant!" Claudine said. "Claude and I have spent two hundred years on distraction tactics and you already give us a run for our money. You are definitely a Brigant! I was so worried you would give us away, 'cause if you just refused to speak he would know something was up. He would force us to answer questions. Grandfather knows Claude and I well enough to know that, but you he didn't expect." She had an evil twinkle in her eye that I had only ever seen in Claude.

"So, what do you have that might sill fit? Claude already said he'll be bringing mine." She was cheerful in the morning to not have had any coffee yet; I'll give her that. But then again, I had never seen Claudine when she wasn't cheery. My adrenaline rush had officially worn off and I was back to my normal morning stupor and wondering when I might get my much needed dose of caffeine.

"Really, the only things I have that are less than a size eight are some old ripped jeans from high school up in the attic in a Rubbermaid box" I concluded after thinking about it for a couple minutes.

"Perfect! I'll go get the box while you shower. No shampoo, just conditioner. Unless we sweat like crazy it dries out our hair and leaves bad frizzies. Hurry! The malls close at 7! We are already going to have to magic on an off our clothes."

I turned off the shower and felt a towel being handed through the curtain to me.

"You are going to have to share the bathroom today. I need a quick one too, and we need to eat the breakfast Preston just left in the kitchen before we leave. Preston just got in the shower in the hall. Whatever you're not done with when I get out I'll help you with at fairy speed. We leave as soon as Claude gets here."

"Yes ma'am" I giggled as I wrapped the towel around me and stepped out as she stepped in and hung her towel on the hook. One thing hanging around all the supes had taught me, was that modesty was wasted energy. A couple years ago I would have been horrified to stand in the same bathroom in nothing but a towel with another woman, even if she was my cousin. But now it's actually nice bonding with her like this. We had never had a lot of down time together.

I grabbed the hand towel by the by the sink and wiped the mirror off. I rushed through brushing out and putting mousse in my hair, squeezing as much water out as I could (which was quite a bit since I was so much stronger) then brushed my teeth and put on the underwear Claudine had laid out for me. Apparently, she had found one of my old bras up in the attic too because the size was a 34D instead of my normal 38. She was right, it fit much better than the bra I had worn yesterday did. It was also hot pink. I would have to be careful about the shirt I wore.

"Oh good, it does fit." I turned around to see Claudine wrapped in a towel smiling back at me. "We will have to add that to the list then." She held her hand out for the brush. She had her hair brushed at fairy speed and had it back on the counter and my compact in her hand within a blink. I still couldn't believe I could even follow the movements.

"Don't look so shocked. You are just as fast, your just not as fine tuned at it yet. I don't use it often, because it is REALLY draining. But I'll just eat like a starved lion and be fine. Now be still." I always hated how snippy she got when she was in a hurry and this was no exception. I certainly hoped she would relax once we got to the mall. It was going to me hard enough for me to actually buy that much without the added stress of this side of my lovely godmother.

Within a matter of a few seconds we were both powdered, bronzed, glossed, and had a light coat of mascara. We both walked back into my bedroom and I rummaged through the Rubbermaid in my underwear while Claudine perched on the side of the bed in her towel giving her opinions. I had been a teenager in the mid-nineties. Therefore all the jeans from high school I had were either high waisted, or wide-leg and ripped. But further down I found a couple pair of old boot cut jeans that had been my moms.

"Oooo" Claudine cooed. "Try those on" she commanded pointing at one pair I held up. Sliding them on I found they fit pretty well overall. They were relaxed fit so even though they were a little bigger in the waist than I would have liked, they were the best I was going to get for the time being and the hips and thighs hugged my curves well without being tight. The jeans were dark and lightly worn around the pockets and knees and had cuffs at the bottom.

"You'll need a belt, but they work."

"What does?" Claude asked, walking right into my room without so much as a knock. "Ah" He said glancing over at my jeans as he handed Claudine her clothes. "Here. Breakfast plates will be ready to go when you're done. I brought a sweater for Sookie, too. Meet me at the car" he said then turned and walked right back out glancing over his shoulder directing a "nice rack by the way" at me.

Claudine stood up putting her clothes on while I searched my room for a belt. I held up two and turned to Claudine silently asking her opinion to which she simply said "brown" as she pulled a midnight blue short sleeved sweater down over her head. It fell to the tops of her thighs where she had on a pair of tight khaki colored cords that were straight legged on and navy Mary Jane heels. She looked breathtaking as always.

I slipped the belt through the loops of my jeans faster than my brain could register and buckled the chunky silver front on the tightest hole. I looked up as Claudine threw a sweater towards me. I put it on and looked down to see what Claude had picked out for me. I had on a nice boat neck blouse on in light pink and a paisley print was barely noticeable in a slightly darker pink around the neckline. It showed just the tops of my cleavage and was long enough to just cover my belt. It was very pretty and I had a very comfortable pare of peep toe pink sandals that matched which I immediately slipped on. I threw all of my shoes over to the corner of my room under the window and kicked the Rubbermaid box into their place in the closet for my great-grandfather's staff to pick up. I was going to accept the help without arguing. After all, he was not some man, trying to make me a kept woman. He was my great- grandfather and he loved me no matter what. Besides, the whole reason I needed the new things was because of the fairy war and his presence during my recovery, not that I would change that for anything. But if this was the way he was going to make it up to me, then I needed to accept the help to show him I did not blame him, I decided.

"Keep that, it looks better on you" Claudine said gesturing back at the shirt over her shoulder as we made our way down the hallway to the kitchen. A smile crept over my lips at her comment combined with the memory of the earlier comment Claude made when walking in on us. I loved my family.

We walked into the kitchen as Claude opened the back door in a huff. I glanced over to see Preston pouring the last of a pot of coffee into a line of travel mugs. But he wasn't looking at the mug. He was staring open-mouthed at me as the last few drops of the coffee miss the mark and puddle on the counter. Suddenly self-conscious I quickly look back to Claude.

"Finally! Let's go." He gestured his hand toward the car outside. Everyone snapped to motion as we prepared to leave.

In a whirlwind, we all had to-go cups of coffee, a close- top plate of breakfast, Claudine and I had our purses, and we were out of the driveway pulling onto Hummingbird Lane.


End file.
